Adrift
by GoldenEyedRamenLover
Summary: Three days. They had been stranded in a raft, bobbing up and down at mercy of the constant roll of waves for three days already and no one had come. Kagome definitely wasn't a dumb girl; she knew that no one knew where they were. No one was coming for them. They continued to drift.
1. Horizon

**_-_:- Adrift -:-**

.:_An Inuyasha Fan-Fiction:._

**_Author: _**_B-mo_

_"Thinking"_

"Talking."

**__****Disclaimer:** _I do not own Inuyasha. I just borrow him for a little while ;)_

**_Summary: _**Three days. They had been stranded in a raft, bobbing up and down at mercy of the constant roll of waves for three days already and no one had come. No matter how hard she tired to occupy her mind with other things, busy her brain with anything else so she wouldn't go crazy, she still couldn't get around the fact that they were stranded at sea, lost without a locator to alert anyone to their current position. Kagome definitely wasn't a dumb girl; she knew that no one knew where they were. No one was coming for them.

They continued to drift.

_**BeforeNote:**_

_Hiya everyone. I've found myself with more time on my hands so I'm back with yet another Inuyasha fanfic. The idea for this story has been bouncing around in my head for a while now so I finally decided to write it out and publish it. I'm not sure how long this story will be (I'd like it to be my longest story yet) but I can never tell at the beginning. So I guess we'll just have to go with the flow. There may be a few misspellings and grammar issues as my computer thinks its smarter than I am and decides to re-write my stories._

_Also, I've rated this M for language (thanks to certain half-demon we all know and love) and for later scenes that are more…ehem… intimate._

_-B-mo_

_..._

_Sorry if this chapter is a little long. I tend to ramble._

* * *

**Prologue.**

Long, pale and slender finger's trailed through the surface of the water delicately, causing lazy ripples in their soft wake. The calmed waves bobbed them up and down gently as if they knew to be careful with the precious cargo inside the raft, only softly rocking them from side to side like a mother rocks her child. Outwardly, everything was peaceful and serene. Inside was a very different story, however.

She stared out at the vast sea; tired eyes with dark bags underneath scanning the horizon for any signs of life, any signs of something, anything. Her head was perched on the metal side of the raft, her un-burned cheek resting against the open doorframe of the vessel, limp hand dipped into the salty ocean.

There was nothing for miles.

"You might wanna take your finger's outta there," came the raspy, brooding voice from behind her. "Never know what kind of monster's are lurkin' underneath the waves, ready to gobble them up."

_"Except him."_ She thought with a roll of her eyes, slipping her damp, pruny hand from the water anyways. _"There's nothing out here for miles except him."_

Three days. They had been stranded in a raft, bobbing up and down at mercy of the constant roll of waves for three days already and no one had come. No matter how hard she tired to occupy her mind with other things, busy her brain with anything else so she wouldn't go crazy, she still couldn't get around the fact that they were stranded at sea, lost without a locator to alert anyone to their current position. Kagome definitely wasn't a dumb girl; she knew that no one knew where they were. No one was coming for them.

They continued to drift.

**~Adrift~**

**Chapter 1. Finding The Horizon**

The crisp mid-summer day was bright and alive with activity. A large crowd of intermixed humans and a few stray demons had gathered to board the cruise ship which sat patiently, waiting in the dock, bobbing with the waves softly. The rich mingled with the rich, talking about their upcoming summer plans, regaling tales of their spring holidays and other upper-class activities.

Demons, the few of them that didn't think it so boring as to go on a very human cruise, stood silently, watching all the commotion with disinterest in their multicolored eyes. They stood out the most. You could be able to spot a more humanoid demon a mile away just by the outlandish color of their hair, or their hypnotic eyes. And if that wasn't enough to alert you, the sharp, almost elf-like qualities of their ears would.

"Kagome hurry up or we'll be late!" Her mother called to her without turning as they continued to walk further into the heavily congested part of the color crowd. "I don't want to miss anything!"

"Yeah Kagome," Souta, her ten-year-old brother grinned in that annoying way brother's do and nudged her. "Hurry up. You're slower than a turtle crossing a highway."

Said girl narrowed her stormy eyes at him from behind the rim of her sunhat, snorting at the earlier comment tossed flippantly at her by her mother but complied none the less, sidestepping around a green haired demon with cobalt blue eyes, who merely grunted down at her in contempt as she tried to squeeze past. Kagome lowered her eyes quickly and kept moving. The siblings trailed after their mother and aging grandfather as they dove deeper into the fray like scuttling ducklings, trying to keep up as best as they could.

"Have your boarding passes ready!" A human man wearing a crisp looking uniform near the main gangplank called out to the throng of people.

The family stopped once they'd made it to the front and Kagome raised her head enough to see over the rim of her sunhat and shielded her eyes from the sun, trying to get a better look at the cruise ship they were about to board.

The Black Pearl, despite her name, was anything but black. She was a large, proud ship, standing tall and sleek, stern to bow. The polished ivory haul shone brightly as the sun reflected off her exterior, while already aboard crew scrambled all around the decks, preparing her for their long voyage ahead. Kagome was definitely no expert but the ship looked rather large and extravagant.

"At least we aren't being jilted. This actually looks like a nice ship," muttered Kagome to herself while her eyes continued to rake over the vessel.

The family's two week vacation was set on the Black Pearl, an opulent passenger cruising liner which was part of a fleet of luxury ships that catered to some of the richest and most important people from around the world. Inu no Taishō, owner and executive of Sō'unga Corp. had recently hosted a raffle as a publicity stunt for his ever growing company, there in which a family of four could win tickets aboard the ship for an all expenses paid, two-week trip across the Caribbean. No drawbacks. No catches.

Seeing the contest in their local news-paper, Kagome's grandfather had entered, thinking nothing of it. If he won, he won. There was no harm in entering himself, he figured. And somehow, in spite of all odds betting against him, he'd been selected out of the other thousands of hopeful entries. He'd done it. He'd won.

And thats how, four weeks later, the Higurashi clan found themselves standing on the deck in the port of call, awaiting to go aboard, surrounded by a large group of well-off people.

"Don't be so ungracious," her mother chided softly from beside her, speaking about her earlier comment.

Much like her daughter her own brown eyes swept eagerly over the vessel they would all call home for the next fourteen days, her gaze matching that of a child looking at all the unwrapped presents underneath a christmas tree; excitedly and curiously.

"This is a trip of lifetime. It will be so much fun," she continued.

The line that had steadily formed in front of the gangplank shifted forward and they all took two steps forward, shifting with it. Kagome opened her lips to respond when a young woman, who couldn't have been much older than herself, suddenly bumped into her side, not really watching where she was going. She seemed to looking at someone who was at the back of the crowd, her head turned.

"I'm sorry," she apologized without really looking her way.

She wore a matching white pantsuit that showed off her curves, a look in which it seemed only she could pull off. Her face was framed by large sunglasses that appeared three sizes too big for her head. Flat-ironed obsidian hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, showing off her cheekbones and facial structure. Her lips were stained a bright red. Without another word she kept walking, sleek heels clacking on the ground beneath her feet.

It wasn't much of a first encounter and the young woman hadn't really even looked her way, but Kagome knew her. Everyone knew who she was.

She was Kikyo Nakamura, a famous model and spokeswoman for an up and coming makeup line. Kagome had seen her in all the popular magazines—read up on her articles and most recent photo shoots. She was the kind of classic beauty that Kagome had never been able to achieve, and anyone was either blind or stupid to not know who she was.

Kagome watched her go, disappearing to the front of the line where she cut everyone off and boarded the ship, her sleek ponytail swaying behind her as she walked her signature strut, looking at all the world like it owed her something. She scoffed and, suddenly self-conscious of how she looked compared to someone who looks as breathtaking as Kikyo, began tugging on her sunhat and pale dress.

"Why do all the rich people get the perks?" She mumbled. Her eyes stayed glued on Kikyo until she could no longer see her walking up the gangplank.

Kagome's eyes continued to sweep over the scene, watching people board, watching passengers mull about on the main deck so high above, waving at the people on the docks, watching as crew loaded suitcases and trunks onto the ship. And then her eyes drifted, drawn past the large cursing liner and to the vast ocean beyond. The waves rolled softly in the seemingly never ending sea, like it could just go on and on forever.

A ripple of dread passed over her.

It felt nauseating and all to real, like the kiss of death had suddenly puckered up and given her a big wet one on her cheek. It was abrupt and harsh and she had a moment where it was hard to breathe. Her chest contracted painfully. _"What is this?"_ She locked her legs, hoping she wouldn't faint. _"Why do I suddenly feel this way?"_ She glanced around discreetly form underneath her hat, trying to gage the reaction of her family. Maybe they felt it too.

But no. They all stood patiently, her mother continuing to gawk at the grand ship, her brother fiddling with that handheld video game of his, her grandfather looking over the itinerary for their journey.

_"Don't go,"_ something whispered in her head, sounding pleading and urgent. _"This is a bad idea! I don't like this. Don't go!"_

For some odd reason it seemed to be just her feeling the odd sensation. A coil of dread curled up in the pit of her stomach like a rattle snake. _"Maybe I'm just getting nervous for_ _the trip,_" she mused sensibly._"Everything's going to be just fine."_

And that's what she chalked it up too: nerves. Had she pondered the idea longer, listened to the voice of reason speaking to her a little more clearly, she might have taken all those signs as a warning and heeded that warning. However she didn't. Instead she brushed out her dress and adjusted her sunhat, trying to look a bit more presentable. The image of a picture perfect Kikyo still burned in her memory.

"Next!" The man wearing the official looking uniform commanded, his voice loud and booming over the din of the crowd.

Collectively, they took another step forward and Kagome moved with them, getting one step closer to a fate unknown.

* * *

He let out a long, low huff and tried making himself smaller, more compact. Invisible even.

_"Can things get any worse?"_ He thought, grappling with the urge to growl at the situation he found himself in.

They were currently cramped in car, which always sucked on a normal basis, but this was much worse considering the two people he was cramped in the car with.

The vehicle suddenly took a sharp turn. This caused his left leg to bump into his elder siblings while his right thigh brushed against Kikyo's. His brother seemed highly annoyed that his leg kept accidentally knocking into him, whereas Kikyo seemed happy, even thrilled about it, sitting as close to him as naturally possible without actually climbing into his lap.

He was completely uncomfortable.

They had been driving for what felt like centuries but could only have been nor more than forty-five minuets. Sesshomaru cast him an icy glare and he sent one of his own when his leg bumped into his again. His half-brother then went back to the newspaper he was currently preoccupying himself with, licking the tip of his thumb and turning the page.

"Are you sure they will have my luggage sent to my room?" Kikyo asked, lightly powdering her nose with the compact makeup case she carried in her oversized purse. "I don't want to lug it all the way up to my suit," she continued and smirked at her reflection, obviously satisfied with how she appeared for the day.

Inuyasha fought the urge to roll his amber eyes yet again. "Yea, I'm sure. I told you that there are people for that on a cruise ship. They'll deliver your junk to your room."

"Besides which," the deep, devoid of any emotion voice of his brother suddenly interjected for the first time since they had departed, his eyes never once leaving the black and white print of the paper. "You're a celebrity; a VIP during the duration of this voyage. My father has made sure of that. I highly doubt they wouldn't scramble to get your luggage to its proper place if you asked them to." Kikyo nodded with the reasoning, seeming to relent slightly.

_"Yeah,"_ Inuyasha thought. _"Then there's that."_

"So tell me," Kikyo said, turning to him, leaning casually up against the door of the car as it zoomed down the highway, heading toward the ocean. "What is this big dinner gala that we're attending? You told me about it a few months ago, but I've just been so busy with work that I forgot."

Golden orbs flickered over to her and he couldn't help but take a breath. Kikyo, obviously, was lithe and beautiful. How couldn't she be? She was a model, after all, and an exquisite one at that. Her bangs fell sharply in front of her dark eyes and the rest of her jet-black hair had been tied up on the crown of her head, fashioning a ponytail. Her complexion was flawless and pale, like she was completely made of soft ivory. A small smirk was toying at the edges of her blood-red lips.

His father had set them up a few months prior at an annual auction, stating that Inuyasha didn't date and wasn't showing himself in the public eye as much as he ought to. There had been an immediate attraction between the two. He had never felt that way with a woman before. Kikyo was gorgeous, seductive, knowing at just the right moment when to toss her hair over her shoulder with a delicate flick of her head, causing her long ebony hair to cascade down her shoulders. She knew when to smile and how to laugh in that way that had his heart racing. He thought, at first, himself in love.

And then came the day a few month into the relationship that she began to look at him a certain way, staring at the downy ears atop his head like they were eyesores. And he was left to wonder how long she'd felt that way. He not only took everything about her into question, but himself.

He already knew he was worthless, to be blunt. He was a half-demon, a mongrel, a monster, unfit for the human world or the demon world._ Hanyous_ had no proper place in society and were generally viewed as abominations. The only reason he was allowed to live on a 'normal' day-to-day basis was because of his powerful fathers name. That was it. That was the only thing that kept the general public from beating him, maiming him, or worse just because of what he was.

And so he put on the stuffy suits and he combed out his untamable hair and he walked and talked like the rest of the overdressed peacocks at the cocktail parties his father threw. He blended in, trying his damnedest to be what they wanted him to be and reeled in his true feelings until they were practically nonexistent. He laughed at jokes he didn't think were funny and he smiled when he really just wanted to scowl.

And with Kikyo on his arm it became easier—the pretending. She was so good at capturing everyones attention; a true expert in the flirtatious game.

He regarded her with his usual lazy gaze. "The dinner is a type of fundraiser for all types of charities our father has invested himself in. A few beneficiaries will also be there. There's gonna be a quick auction, dancing food, etcetera," he waved his hand dismissively, not giving a rats ass about the whole pomp and ceremony of the whole shebang. The way he saw it was just another thing he had to endure through.

Though Kikyo, always one to soak up the limelight like UV rays, saw it as an opportunity to flaunt herself on the arm of the gorgeous man sitting next to her. She smiled pleasantly and leaned forward, placing her manicured hand on his thigh in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture but came out as slightly possessive instead. Inuyasha rigidly tensed where he sat, his gaze sinking to peer her pale hand on his thigh.

"Sounds like fun." She chirped happily, seemingly ignorant to his current discomfort.

Suddenly the town car slowed before finally stoping. "We're here, sir," came the high pitch squawk from the drivers seat. It was Jaken who'd spoken, a skittish little kappa of a demon and ass-kissing servant to Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru finally tore his attention away from the paper, glancing out the window with his countenance composed as ever. "Jaken," he finally said, folding the paper neatly. "Keep the car running and fetch our things from the trunk."

"Yes, M'lord!" The scaly, green skinned imp scurried out of his seat, dashing around to the passenger's side to open the door for his master.

Inuyasha sent a bemused glance in his brothers direction. "Why does he call you M'lord again?"

The full demon merely sent one of his very rare smirks but didn't divulge any further. The grin was so small Inuyasha had to squint his eyes to see if it was really there or if he'd made up the whole thing.

The car door swung open and, with the inhuman grace one shouldn't posses with a stature his size, Sesshomaru placed one leg out of the car before sweeping up to his towering full height, his cool gaze staring out impassively at the harbor in front of him while Jaken went to fetch the luggage out of the back. Jaken had been obedient enough to park the car in a gated area in which the camera's, news reporters, and paparazzi couldn't reach them.

Inuyasha followed quickly and stood a few paces away, eager to get out of the confined and stifling car to stretch his powerful legs. He stared briefly out at the harbor, sharp golden eyes sizing up the accumulating crowd. He swallowed, his clawed hands clenching and unclenching by his sides nervously. He hated crowds. He hated feeling like an animal trapped. He loathed the way people bumped into him like he wasn't even there, practically drowning him where he stood. He hated it all.

Someone cleared their throat behind him and he turned curiously, momentarily forgetting about the large group of humans and demons waiting to go aboard. Kikyo stared expectantly up at him from her spot in the car, unmoving, one plucked eyebrow raised into her hairline, lips pursed.

Inuyasha bit back a snarky remark for her behavior but complied to her nonetheless. Glancing away almost pettishly he offered her his outstretched hand, feeling her much smaller one slipping into his as she too rose from the car, her heels clacking against the ground when she stood.

"What a gorgeous ship," she commented to the vessel which bobbed up and down a few yards ahead, putting on a pair of over-exaggerated sunglasses that practically swamped her whole face.

The half-demon had to smirk at that. "Yeah she is. She was christened The Black Pearl," he stated proudly. _"After my_ _mother,"_ he thought to himself, still grinning.

"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru called, approaching them. When he got close enough he uncurled his large hand, producing four small clips from inside his palm. "I assume you'll be wanting these."

For his part, Inuyasha merely growled lowly in his throat, his happy thoughts about his mother scattering as quickly as they had come, but swiped up the offered clips anyway, glowering at Sesshomaru who wore his usual neutral, expressionless mask.

"What are those for?" Kikyo inquired lightly, squeezing his hand. It was then that he realized that their hands were still clasped together and, as discreetly as he could, pulled his hand out of hers to conveniently brush some hair from his face.

He huffed and figured there was no way he could skirt around this particular subject. "They're for my ears," he mumbled and his gaze slipped down the ground, the two downy objects of current conversation leaning back to meet his skull shamefully.

The ears, he thought. It was always about the damned ears. They were the elephant in the room and the reason he was labeled a freak. The two harmless and rather adorable objects were either heatedly disliked or annoyingly adored. Children stared and adults sneered when they saw the two twitching objects. People either tugged on them in affection (most times without asking, mind you), or they were tweaked in a cruel taunt. Sometimes people were gentle, though most times they were rough with them. Everything combined had been why he'd started using the clips. The clips hid his ears in the thick layers of his fair hair, keeping them pinned down so no one could see them.

Kikyo's mouth popped open into a small 'o' and she glanced away, permitting him the opportunity to slip the clips into place as discreetly as he could mange. When he was done securing the plastic clips into place—two clips for each ear—he frowned. The world sounded muffled and dampened, like cotton balls were swathing up that particular sense.

_"A small price to pay,"_ he thought.

"Well," Kikyo clapped her hands together cheerfully, putting on a fake smile to sidestep the awkward silence that had fallen. "I'm going to go check us in and then we will all head up to our rooms and freshen up, hn?" She didn't wait for a response before sauntering away.

Though she did turn to look over her shoulder at him, sending him a meaningful look that he couldn't quite decipher. Because she wasn't watching where she was going, she bumped into a girl where she stood waiting in line. Kikyo appeared like she said something brief to the girl before continuing on. Inuyasha took a step forward, his eyes glazing over as he stared at, not Kikyo, but the girl she'd ran into.

The young woman had on a large white sunhat that covered most of her face from view and wore a sundress the color of the sky that hugged her shapely figure and slim waist. The fabric of the dress fluttered with the slight breeze that was picking up from the ocean, wiping around her knees. Her small, pale hands were ringing themselves out in front of her, her long legs shifting, causing her to sway in her spot anxiously.

He had no idea why he continued to stare. He knew how it felt to be stared at like he was the biggest freak on the planet—he had no desire to make anyone else feel that way. He didn't know why he was until she finally turned her head in his direction to gaze out at the vast ocean, allowing him to see her for the first time underneath her hat. His breath was stolen from his lungs at the sight of her. She had to be, without a doubt, the most intoxicating thing he'd ever seen in his life.

Her ebony hair was short and thick, falling to the middle of her shoulder blades in waves. Her face was round and heart shaped and her smooth chin lead up into a curved jawline. His attention was snared further when small, white teeth seemed to materialize from out of nowhere to nibble on her pale, pink lips, her large, grey-blue eyes blinking out at the ocean innocently. It was her eyes that had him hooked. They were like the sky and sea before a storm; untamable and captivating and steely. Dark eyelashes fanned over those eyes as she glanced down, the lashes feathering against her rosy cheeks.

When a particularly powerful gust coming from the sea swept over the girl and then back towered himself he almost lost it. He grit his teeth audibly, his legs buckling. Her natural scent, even more stimulating then the sight of her, was carried on the back of the salty air where it traveled to his powerful nose. Greedily he took a great inhale, his slitted pupils dilating unintentionally while his nasal passage claimed the floral smell with one deep breath.

Dewey, lavender and forest rain.

Amber eyes fluttered closed against the world and he tipped his head back in pleasure. His demonic senses picked through all the particles one by one, to insure he took all of it in. It took everything in him not to moan.

He re-opened his eyes and stared at her a bit longer before he settled on a decision. And as if under a spell she'd cast herself, he took a step in her direction. She was mesmerizing, beautiful, even when merely standing in line. He had to talk to her. He had to know who she was. He had almost taken four steps in her direction when Sesshomaru's voice broke him from the moment.

"Lets be going," he practically commanded his younger brother, leaving little room to argue. "Jaken, have our bags sent to our room." The kappa nodded his head vigorously while Sesshomaru turned on his heel and headed toward the ship whist Inuyasha, following a few paces behind, kept glancing over his shoulder to look at the young women. But when his eyes swept over the spot she'd been staring in mere moments before, he frowned.

The spot she'd preoccupied only moments before was empty and she was no where in sight.

_"She must've boarded already,"_ he mused, finding himself deflating a bit at the thought.

The two brother's slipped by the line of passengers, looking suave and sophisticated as they boarded the ship without any preamble. A man wearing a uniform simply bowed at the waist as they brushed past, granting them access aboard. Sesshomaru wore a crisp, white dress shirt and black slacks. His silver hair, which he wore like a badge of honor, a testament to his pure white inuyoukai blood, brushed against his ankles. Inuyasha, different from his brother like night and day, wore a blood red button-up with a few of the top buttons undone and dark jeans. His own hair was, as usual, unruly.

They mounted the main gangplank to the ship in unintentional unison. One of Inuyasha's hands was draped lazily out the front of his pocket—Sesshomaru wore a look of indifference. Crew and staff members hastily moved out of their way as they boarded the large ship, gazing at the two demons like they were royalty. The brothers stepped food inside like they owned the place because, truthfully, they did.

The ships interior was designed like a bustling, sparkling city that floated on the sea. Passengers mulled about on the main floor, passing by a lit-up water fountain the size of a small building. Shops, restaurants and stores were all open, casting a cozy, almost homey feel about the ship. People sat at 'outdoor' bistro's, drinking champagne and soaking up as much of their vacation as possible. Strings of lights cascaded down from the ceiling, looping over and around large white pillars, so when evening finally arrived it was always a starry night. A grand staircase was set near the back of the main plaza which then deposited passengers into the main area. The rich mahogany wood dipped in a smooth arch until it reached the bottom where it curled.

Over all, the innermost part of the ship was a grand sight indeed.

The two Taishō brothers merely sidestepped all of this activity, however, continuing on toward the set of tube shaped, glass-encased elevators at the back of the main floor. While Sesshomaru pressed the button and waited for the car, Inuyasha's eyes swept over the whole scene, searching for the beautiful raven haired beauty that had captured his full attention. Her scent still lingered defiantly in his nose.

The elevator doors swished open and Sesshomaru swept inside. Using a card-key he produced from his pocket to swipe it through the card reader installed in the keypad on the inside, he allowed them access to the top floor. When he turned, he found his brother staring off into space. "Come, Inuyasha."

A muscle in his cheek twitched as Inuyasha ground his jaw, golden eyes narrowing at the command, but he complied and stepped into the elevator car. Sesshomaru noted, though never spoke about it aloud, how Inuyasha's molten gaze never lingered too long in one place, always looking, always searching for a flash of sky blue and the scent of raindrops and lavender.

* * *

After a rather lengthy safety run-through should an emergency occur on board, the Higurashi family were allowed to roam free about the ship. Souta eagerly chirped that he was heading up to the main deck to watch the activity of their departure.

"Why don't you go with him?" Her mother suggested, watching her son trot off.

"He's fourteen-years-old, mom." Kagome practically groaned. "He doesn't need a babysitter."

Mrs. Higurashi sent her daughter a small smile. "I know he is, but I would really appreciate it."

Knowing she couldn't possibly win Kagome nodded and trailed after her brother, making sure to keep him in her line of sight. She headed up the curved staircase and out onto the main deck. There was a slight crowd and she had to stand on her tiptoes to see over the bobbing heads, trying to spot him.

"Where are you?" She mumbled silently, wobbling on the balls of her feet.

"Talking to yourself?" A teasing voice asked right next to her ear.

She quickly whirled around and let out a happy squeal of surprise. "Sango!"

Sango stood smirking, hands stuffed into the white beach shorts she wore casually. Her long, shapely legs were crossed at the ankles, one worn sneaker resting over the other. "Hey."

Kagome had to once again stand on her tiptoes to throw her hands over the taller woman's shoulders, enveloping her best friend in a tight hug. "I was wondering where you were. You didn't text me this morning."

"My phone has been getting crappy reception," she shrugged and stepped back, giving her a look that clearly said _What can you do?_

Unlike Kagome, who would never be able to afford a trip like this on its own, Sango's father, a police chief, had paid for the trip in full. When Kagome had first told her about the voyage Sango had immediately said she was coming along, saying something about how they seriously needed some time to themselves and have an 'affair of a lifetime' as she'd put it.

"So," Sango mumbled, her eyes scanning the area. "Seen any hot guys yet?"

Kagome whacked her best friend on the arm playfully. She really did have a one track mind. "Sango!"

She shrugged again, not looking apologetic in the least. "What?"

Why Sango didn't have a boyfriend was beyond Kagome. She was gorgeous, talented and intellectual. She had dark brown hair that fell all the way to the middle of her back and thick, full bangs. Her brown eyes were always alive, bright and eager. Her witty personality was contagious and she could hold her own with the guys. If it wasn't for her deep love over the girl, Kagome would constantly be pea-green with envy over her own friend.

"Were you looking for someone right now?" Sango asked, leaning up against a nearby railing.

"Yeah. I was looking for Souta. Did you see him?"

Sango nodded and pointed. Kagome's eyes followed the direction of the gesture and spotted Souta, stationary at the railing that overlooked the dock. Standing next to him was Kohaku, Sango's younger brother.

"Well, at least I won't have to watch him now." Kagome smirked and linked her arm through Sango's. They headed back inside together, walking past a few quaint bistros and 'outdoor' restaurants.

Kagome leaned her head in close to her friend, hushing her tone. "Guess who I saw boarding the ship this morning."

Sango lowered her head as well. They looked like two regular conspirators. "Who?"

"I suppose saying I saw her boarding the ship is a bit of an understatement," Kagome murmured, mostly to herself. "She actually bumped into me like I wasn't even there. Of course how could I really blame her? She's so famous she probably doesn't even see regular people like me anymore and—."

"Kagome." Sango snapped somewhat as Kagome blathered, eager to know just who it was she was talking about. "Just tell me."

Kagome cast her an intense glance and took a long pause for dramatic effect. "Kikyo Nakamura."

Sango's eyes widened. "Get out. Are you serious?"

"Completely."

Sango tugged on her arm, causing Kagome to stumble from the abruptness when she practically threw the younger woman onto a nearby, unoccupied bench and plopped herself down, eyes alight with excitement.

"Tell me everything." She leaned her elbows on her knees and inlined her head eagerly.

Kagome giggled at the sight of her friend, looking like a puppy begging for a bone. Sango was a sucker for good gossip. "Well," she shrugged. "I was just standing there, minding my own business, waiting to board the ship when all of a sudden someone bumped into me. I turned and there she was."

"What was she wearing? What did she say? Was she as gorgeous in person as she in the magazines?"

She shook her head and laughed at all the questions thrown at her. "She was wearing a real gorgeous pantsuit and high heels that probably cost more than the shrine." She said, referring to the family shrine that her grandfather owned. "She said she was sorry about bumping into me. And yeah," Kagome mumbled, growing subconscious of her appearance once again. "She was really beautiful."

"Wow. You're so lucky."

Kagome snorted. "Oh sure. I'm about as lucky as a black cat and a field full of broken mirrors."

Sango noticed her friends sudden discomfort and leaned in, not out of a girlish need for gossip, but out of concern for her friend. "Hey." She wrapped her arm around her shoulder, her voice gentle and distinctly motherly.

"Lets quit talking about her. This is going to be a fantastic trip—one of a lifetime. And I'm not going to be spend it sulking around, are you?" It was more of a rhetorical question because she didn't give her the chance to answer. "Now, lets go scope out the guys. I'm sure there's plenty them. How does that sound?"

She was right, Kagome knew. This was a trip of a lifetime and she deserved it. She would spend her time soaking it up in the sun, swimming in the pool, heading to the spa and, if she was lucky and the universe stopped laughing at her along enough to allow it, she might meet a guy. It was going to be fantastic adventure and she sure as heck wasn't going to spend her time moping.

Sango sent her grin a cheeky wink and Kagome couldn't help but smirk.

* * *

The sitting room was lavishly furnished, with a few chaise lounge chairs pushed against the far wall and a small coffee table. All the way on the other side of the room, opposite the door, was a private walk-out deck that overlooked the ocean. The room then spilt off into the master bedroom with the bathroom attached to it.

Walking into the room, his nose twitched at the overpowering undertones of cleaning solution and soap from when the maids had been in there earlier. He fought off a sneeze.

It was…nice. Too nice. Wasn't this supposed to be a cruise, not some five star hotel? Was there really need for all of this space? He kicked off his shoes and sighed, noticing his bags and suitcase lined up neatly in the main entry.

His mind flew instantly to Kikyo, wondering if she was happy that her bags would've been brought to her or if she was indifferent with the whole thing even though she made a big fuss over the whole situation. Inuyasha was inclined to go with the latter.

He undid the buttons on the wrist of his nicely pressed shirt and rounded the corner into the bedroom. Again it was crafted to perfection just like the sitting room. A monstrosity of a bed overtook most of the main wall, with feathered pillows stacked high and a plush down comforter.

He sighed, never really one for outlandish and extravagant things. While he did and could appreciate the finer things in life, he was always more inclined to go with a simpler look; a simpler life.

Stepping into the bedroom fully, he approached two glass door's on the furthest side of the wall, across from the bathroom, and slid them open.

Fresh sea air assaulted him, instantly clearing the sterile cleaning smell from his nose and replacing it with only scents of sea-life and ocean froth. He inhaled fully, feeling his lungs expand gratefully before he exhaled, finding himself grinning. It was wonderful.

He moved out onto his own private verandah, leaning his clawed hands onto the railing to over look the horizon of the ocean. The waves were placid, only just making the ship bob up and down. A sublime breeze skimmed the very top of the ocean and rose up to greet him, forcing a few silver stands of hair back and away from his face.

He let his mind wander, his thoughts drifting from the matter of his stoic brother and the secret he thought his father and Sesshomaru were keeping from him, to the 'problem' between himself and Kikyo. His mind never stayed on one subject to long, always ricocheting from one to the other, before finally it landed to…that girl, of all things. A welcomed thought among the chaotic mess of the other two.

At first glance, if he had not known better, he might've mistaken that young woman for Kikyo. The dark hair, taking on almost a blue hue in the sunlight, the milky white skin. There were small but almost identical similarities between the both of them. But while Kikyo's features were angular, sharp almost, the girls face was not. She was softer, rounder, and all around more angelic.

He let out a muffled groan and pushed away from the railing. He didn't want to linger on the idea of that anonymous wench anymore. He was with Kikyo…wasn't he? He loved her…didn't he? Sure their relationship wasn't the best and needed improvement in many area's, but they were still satisfied…weren't they?

"This is ridiculous," he muttered to himself and stepped back inside, shutting the doors. It wasn't merely the thought of the girl that bothered him so much. It was the irritating fact that he was still musing over the whole situation.

Without truly noticing it he began pacing back and forth like a caged animal, walking up and down the length of the room in repetitive agitation. He pocketed one hand, the other hand flew up to cup his chin, dragging his index finger across his lips pensively.

After a good twenty minuets of tedious pacing the suit—which only served to stroke the angry fire of confusion and agitation flaming in his chest—an odd growl hinted in the back of his throat when he suddenly came to a conclusion. Stomping almost like a petulant child, he strode toward the door, powerful and determined legs surging him forward.

If he couldn't get her out of his mind, he would simply go find her and squash any thoughts of her bouncing around in his head. Maybe if they met he would become uninterested and overcome this bizarre urge of curiosity. Maybe she was terribly boring. Maybe she uglier up close. Though he highly doubted the last possibility, he still had to go and find out for himself. He wanted to know the girl. He had to know.

Fate intervened with his plan, however. A nock came from the other side of the door just as his clawed hands wrapped around the cool door handle. He reeled back somewhat, surprised, before swinging it open to reveal Kikyo who looked as equally surprised that the door opened so quickly.

"Kikyo," he breathed and leaned against the door, still surprised. "What're you doing here?"

It was her turn to look taken aback, her eyes promptly flickering about the expanse of his room, as if trying to see if anyone was inside. Her lips pursed. "What?" Her eyes flew back to meet his, challenging. "Were you expecting someone else?"

He shifted, uncomfortable at how close to the truth she was. He had the good sense to grunt and try and look offended. "No. Why would I be?"

She bypassed him and moved into the suit uninvited, still gazing around suspiciously and blatantly ignoring his question, as if whatever or whoever she thought he might be keeping in his room would simply jump out and yell_ I'm here! I'm right here!_

"Why don't you come with me and watch the ship depart from port?" she suggested, actually sounding sincere. "I wouldn't usually be interested in such trivial things but theres going to be a large crowd and I thought I'd mingle and see what all the excitement is about."

Suddenly it dawned on Inuyasha that Kikyo wasn't interested in going up on deck merely to watch the activity for the heck of it, but rather she wanted to go and have the crowd see her. She wanted to go up in her famous splendor and have them humbled in her presence.

He snorted in disgust, his body sagging against the doorjamb. "No. I don't think thats such a good idea." When Kikyo raised an eyebrow in his direction, he elaborated. "You know I hate crowds."

There weren't many things Inuyasha could say Kikyo knew about him one-hundred percent. They were supposed to know things about each other that no other could possibly know. Inseparable, is what they were supposed to be. What they _should _be.

However, they'd never divulged that deeply into their personal lives. They had always been estranged, even at the best time in their relationship. Except for this. She knew that fact better than anyone.

"Well, then why don't you come walk with me?" She shrugged, her hands flaying around. "It's not good for you to be holed up in here the whole trip."

He opened his mouth to object but the narrowed gaze she sent had him shrugging his shoulders. She would't let him wriggle himself out of this one. "Sure, I guess."

"Good!" She beamed, offering a true smile that revealed a set of straight, ivory teeth.

Inuyasha mentally captured the moment, the brilliant gleam of her smile, and filed the mental image away like a trophy. Kikyo rarely smiled like that, so care free and happy. It was scarce to see her so lively. She usually wore demure smirks, coy grins, flirtatious dimples. But never true smiles.

Not realizing Inuyasha's current thoughts Kikyo moved for the door, grabbing at his clawed hand and pulling him after her. Though the suit door clicked shut silently to mortal ears, it sounded more like the din of a canon boom going off to Inuyasha. Kikyo practically skipped down the hall with him shuffling close behind.

Most of the passengers were up on the main deck, watching as the ship was towed out of port and pushed out toward sea, therefore there weren't too many people they came across as they walked the length of the ship from the inside.

Nonetheless, the few of passengers that they did cross paths with always acted the same way. The girls paled and squealed or jumped around like they couldn't control their filling limbs, asking for Kikyo's autograph or picture. The men merely stared at her, their eyes alive with desire and lustful interest.

Critically, Inuyasha observed Kikyo as she filled the role of dedicated celebrity, smiling coyly at cameras and signing anything that was shoved underneath her nose. He always moved out of the way, trying to make no noise and be as invisible as possible. He had no intention of being the center of attention any time soon.

When the most recent squealer parted ways with her, walking down the hall, still gawking after them, Kikyo turned, looking like she was trying to smother a smile. Inuyasha didn't comment on it, allowing himself to be, once again, tugged to her side while they continued walking.

Underneath their feet Inuyasha felt the impossibly large propellers of the cruising liner push them further out toward the sea. The smog and over-crowdedness of the city vanished until there was nothing but open water and clear skies. The Black Pearl sailed proudly and true, living up to her name for all it was worth.

The crew hastened to give the ship everything she needed for a smooth and safe voyage, calling out to one another from their specific stationed positions. The captain, a man by the name of Totōsai stood at the helm, while Myoga, the ships first mate, stood at the wheel, snipping orders at the young man in charge of steering.

Totosai scratched at his balding head with his long fingernails as he watched the world drift past, only half listening to Myoga giving his usual condescending speech to the poor helmsman. The sky was blue, the air was fresh and the outlook for the trip was superb. They were on their way.

Below deck, Inuyasha glanced at Kikyo from his periphery and saw her chin lifted proudly in the air. Her slender shoulder' were level, stride even and absolute. Her small arm in the crook of his own felt heavier than an anvil, the weight of commitment denser than anything he'd ever felt.

He was sure he looked completely awkward next to her, failing in the confidant department painfully.

Suddenly he wished he was like the ship they were on. He coveted the idea of being able to pick up the anchor, the weight, the burden that was holding him down and run away from everything confining him; run away to a brighter horizon.

* * *

**A/N: _Yea. Okay. The ending was a little cheesy but I really had a hard time figuring how to end this first chapter. I hope you liked it anyway. I'm currently working on chapter four and I should be posting the second chapter in a few days once I have a chance to re-read it. Anyway, tell me what you think. I love hearing from my reviewers. Plus, when you review, it motives me to write faster. So really it's a win-win for everyone ;)._**


	2. Collision

**_-_:- Adrift -:-**

.:_An Inuyasha Fan-Fiction:._

**_Author: _**_B-mo_

_"Thinking"_

"Talking."

**__****Disclaimer:** _I do not own Inuyasha. Ahhhh reality. Thou art a heartless bitch._

**_Summary: _**Three days. They had been stranded in a raft, bobbing up and down at mercy of the constant roll of waves for three days already and no one had come. No matter how hard she tired to occupy her mind with other things, busy her brain with anything else so she wouldn't go crazy, she still couldn't get around the fact that they were stranded at sea, lost without a locator to alert anyone to their current position. Kagome definitely wasn't a dumb girl; she knew that no one knew where they were. No one was coming for them.

They continued to drift.

_**BeforeNote:**_

_Yep. I'm baaaaaack. I hope everyone had a great weekend. I want to thank everyone who took the time to read and review my story. So thank you. I really appreciate them. I've been busying myself with school and writing and I finally found the time to squeeze in this update. I hope you guys like it. _

_-B-mo_

_..._

_Review or Inuyasha gets pinned to the sacred tree for another 50 years. _

* * *

**Chapter 2. Two worlds, One collision.**

Five days into the voyage found Kagome and Sango walking along the upper deck as they always did in the afternoon, looking out at the calm sea from their current vantage point. The day was warm and many people lounged out beside the pool, soaking up the rays of the sun and enjoying good company. Happy shrieks came from little children as they swam, savoring the day as much if not more than the adults. The air was alive with laugher.

"Didja' hear that Inu no Taishō's two sons are aboard?" Sango asked offhandedly while sidestepping a redheaded fox-child as he ran past down the long walkway toward the kiddy pool. "I heard through the grapevine that they're pretty hot. Think I stand a chance?" She glanced out her periphery, smirking devilishly at her own sinful thoughts.

Kagome didn't respond, only staring out at the vast ocean as usual, hand running along the decks railing daintily. The simple and pale-yellow sundress she'd pulled over her bathing suit fluttered around her knee's, sweeping out behind her with each step. Her long hair was combed up, away from her face in a careful up-do, only a few lose ebony tendrils falling around her face in curls. Her eyes were thoughtful.

"Earth to Kagome. Hell_looo_!" Sango bent down to her level, waving a freshly manicured hand in front of her dazed face. She watched as her friend blinked her large eyes, coming out of whatever trance she'd put herself in.

"H-huh. What?" Kagome swiveled her head, finding a tight-lipped Sango. "What happened?" She had been doing that lately, staring out into the ocean and slipping into a daze. She couldn't help it. There was just something about its vastness that captured her full attention.

Sango snorted, crossing her arms. "I was talking, asked you a question and you didn't hear me. You were to busy ogling the ocean."

Kagome smirked, nudging Sango with her elbow, making her giggle. "I wasn't 'ogling it'. I was….admiring," she settled on, glancing back at the subject of their conversation. "It's just," she sighed, sounding like she was talking about someone she loved, "so big and mysterious and—"

"A big, wondrous marvel that we should all cherish," Sango droned, sounding like a passage ripped right out of some nature magazine. "Yeah I get it. It's _very _exciting,"she said, sounding like she was anything but.

Kagome shook her head, smiling tiredly and finally looking away from the sea, tucking a fly away strand of hair behind her ear as the salty air pushed it into her face. "So what were you, um, talking about earlier? You were saying something about Inu no Taishō?"

Sango looked mildly impressed, her eyebrows shooting into her hairline. "Oh? So you were listening to me where you?" Kagome cast her a dry look which she replied by sticking out her tongue. "I was saying that his two son's are on board, mingling in with the common folk, I guess." Sango rolled her eyes. "Never knew the formidable Taishō boys would be gracing us with their presence."

Kagome sent her a serious look. "Shush. What if they heard you?" She looked around playfully frantic, her eyes wide with false worry. "They could be anywhere you'd least know it. And then," her tone dropped a few decimals, sounding grave. Sango glanced at her grinning, shaking her head while Kagome made a fool of herself. "They'd attack!" She nearly shouted, her finger's coming to Sango's sides to tickle her.

Sango couldn't help but giggle and a few sun bathers, lounging on their basic, plastic sun chairs near the front of the pool deck turned to stare at the girls. "Stop it!" She laughed, throwing her head back. "I'm gonna pee! Stop it 'Gome!"

Kagome yanked her arms back, continuing on their stroll as if nothing had happened, only the grin tugging at her lips letting anyone know that something was off.

As the young girl moved over to stand at the stern of the vessel, chuckling to herself over her victory, her arms dangling over the side of the railing as she gazed out at the waters, did she catch someone's sharp eye. A smirk formed, fangs indented against a bottom lip, forcing a dimple. The figure continued to watch her, bathed in the orange glow from the sun behind her, making her appear like an angel.

From across the open deck Sango sneered halfheartedly at the girl, stomping over to her friend. "Kagome! What's the matter with you? You tickle me crazy and then you just leave me standing there?" Lightheartedly she nudged the younger woman where she stood, leaning up the railing as well.

However Kagome had gone still, turned to a statue, the fine hairs on the nape of her neck prickling in that peculiar sensation that people sometimes get. Her head burned where an intense stare pierced the back of her skull.

She was being watched.

"Do you feel that?" She whispered, the sound barely carrying due to the waves crashing against the side of the ship and the slight gust in the wind.

Sango shrugged. "Feel what?"

It felt as if someone was ghosting finger's up and down her back. Like hot breath, moist and tangible, was playing against the back of her neck, right where the vertebrae in her spine connected with her head, that hallow right in the back of the neck. It was as if she was being physically touched. Her hands twitched, her legs trembled slightly.

"_That,_" she bit out stressfully. She looked up at Sango through her lashes, catching her off guard at the look she was being given. "Don't you feel it?"

Since the beginning of their voyage Kagome had felt a pair of eyes on her, watching her occasionally. The first time had been the day they were departing. She'd been standing, waiting with her family to board the ship and staring out at the ocean.

Suddenly something tugged on her natural subconscious. That little instinctual feeling that let someone know they were being watched. She had turned without thinking. And for a split moment, she coulee sworn she saw a flash of silver and gold through the small gaps of peoples bodies. But just when she was about to inspect further, her mother had clutched her elbow and tugged her aboard.

The Higurashi family had been out to dinner the night after they'd departed the second time it had occurred. Halfway through the meal Kagome had got the odd sense that someone was watching her. She'd turned, scanned the bustling restaurant under narrowed lashes, and found nothing suspicious looking. Although she really didn't know what she was looking for specifically. Soon the sensation faded away and she'd shrugged it off and went back to eating.

The next day she and Sango had just resurfaced from swimming in the outdoor pool for the better half of the afternoon and were lounging on a pair of reclinable sun-chairs. Sango had just cracked a _terribly _awful joke that sent both of them into cackling hysterics at the sheer dreadfulness of it, when the abrupt feeling reared its ugly head.

While Sango was still busy laughing to herself, even snorting occasionally, Kagome sat up, eyes sweeping over the crowd on the deck. She gnawed on her bottom lip when she again came up with nothing. No one was even looking her direction. The rest of the day she spent looking over her shoulder.

She had been a bit more alert of her surroundings the few days following that, yet the the sensation that _someone _was keeping an eye on her didn't fade. If anything it worsened. Maybe she was paranoid. Maybe she was crazy. Either way, the feeling had never been this strong, this intense and knee buckling.

Kagome practically willed Sango to feel exactly what she was sensing, and she felt herself slump a bit when her best friend merely shook her head, looking very uninterested. The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach merely grew worse when Sango uttered a "Nope. I don't feel anything." She barely withheld a whine of protest when the elder woman continued. "Hey, I'm going to go work on my tan. See you later on tonight at the gala." Kagome watched helplessly as she strode away in the vague direction of the pool, leaving her shaking like a leaf in the wind at the back of the ship.

Wetting her throat with a gulp of salty air, Kagome scrubbed her cool fingertips across her forehead and forced herself to calm. _"Get a grip," _she commanded herself. _"You look like a crazy person. Nobody's watching you. Who'd want to stare at you? You probably feel ill because…you're finally feeling a bit seasick._" She nodded slowly, the thought sounding reasonable. _"Yeah. Sure. That's it."_

She licked her lips and began walking, writing off the feeling as seasickness before brushing off the thought completely. She continued along the same path she and Sango had been strolling, her hand, once again, moving to the polished wood of the railing almost subconsciously. Her eyes wandered over to the sea, watching the waves lap against the side of the ship in a gentle caress. Never once did she notice, only walking a few short paces behind, another hand, very different in contrast, trailing eagerly after her own, as if trying to feel the heat her hand had left behind mere moments before.

Unbeknownst to the young woman, a game of cat and mouse had been initiated.

Descending down the staircase she side passed a few other passengers and moved toward the promenade deck, ready to get a few more minuets of fresh air in before she headed back to their room.

Just as she rounded the corner, though, a thought popped into her mind and she realized she needed to talk to Sango about their dinner plans before she got too far. She needed to know when Sango would head down the dinner gala and what she would be wearing—girl things.

Whirling around on her platform shoes, her dress twirling with her, she rounded back around the corner and suddenly found herself colliding into a broad, hard chest. Her right foot slipped on the polished wood deck and she squealed lightly as her center gravity shifted. One of her arms shot out instinctually, grasping for anything within reach. Her fingers only managed to snag air. _"This is going to hurt," _she thought as she spotted the hard flooring below just before her face impacted with it.

Yet the hurt never came.

Instead came the rumbling sound of deep laughter, an easy chortle, and the feeling of weightlessness. Hard hands caught her and effortlessly drew her into a sturdy body, one that was all muscle and rooted strength.

"Clumsy," came a jokingly chastising voice near her ear, deep, thick and gravelly. "Lemme guess. You're the kind of girl that could trip over a cordless phone, right?"

Kagome bristled, catching onto the realization that whoever had caught her was also mocking her. "Excuse me?" She asked, her voice all breathless and light from her near face-plant.

She glanced down, noticing for the first time their current position. Instead of tripping over her own two feet, he had caught her in his arms, pressing the side of her body into his chest before impact. Both her feet hovered a few inches above the ground. He was dipped down, his long legs still bunched from where he had caught her.

Heat burned on her skin underneath all ten points of contact left by his fingertips on the places he held her waist, each scorching her skin. Her small hands were grasping his biceps tightly, holding on for dear life. They looked like two lovers in an intimate embrace.

There came another arrogant snort and Kagome's gaze flickered upward at the sound, trailing up his long arms and broad chest before finally reaching his face. And what a face it was. Kagome felt all breath snatched from her lungs at the sight of him.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to the cocky smirk pulling at the very distracting corners of his lips. Then the strong, tight jaw those lips were set in. Her eyes continued on with hasty curiosity and found a straight, unflawed nose and a dimpled chin. Finally her gaze lifted the whole way, her head lifting to see all of him. He stole her breath again when their eyes connected, gazes locking, intertwining so intensely to the point that it almost caused Kagome pain. It was good thing he was holding her upright, otherwise she'd probably fallen over.

His eyes were actually _golden—_two miniature suns, blazing just as fiercely and intensely as the real thing. They stood there, in a moment that was slowed, Kagome staring at her savior while he blinked back.

_"He's…wow,"_ was all she could manage to think, to do.

His face was angular but rounded out and soft over his prominent cheekbones, hinting at childish contours, but just barley. He was probably only a bit older than her; two, maybe three, years. Her hand fisted in the material of his white dress shirt, not pushing him away but definitely not drawing him closer either.

She suddenly felt light-headed under his hooded stare and her mouth blatantly ignored her brains instructions to speak. Kagome had just opened her mouth to say something when he dived in and beat her to the punch.

He must have felt her tension—it wasn't difficult; she was rigid—because his grip eased somewhat. "Are you all right?" The two strong eyebrows on his forehead furrowed. A line formed on his forehead. "You don't look so good."

His husky voice halted her in her tracks, but the sight of him…the sight of him turned her into a non-responsive, quivering wreck. Kagome swallowed hard and he noticed. She could just see the barely restrained smile hinting at his lips, suddenly aware that he could _tell _he was kind of having some effect on her.

He was so close, _so close, _she could smell his natural scent. The very masculine smell of him mingled in with a scent that smelled like the back of the wind when the car windows were rolled all the way down and…She inhaled. Forest trees. He smelled like forest trees, earth and fresh water. It was wonderful.

"I-I'm f-fine," she stuttered terribly and he dashed a smirk at that too. It was a knowing kind of smirk. From the looks of him she bet he had that same reaction from women all the time.

He took that moment to set her feet back on the floor, finally deciding she'd had enough. She gently pushed herself away and fell back a step, noting for the first time his hair had been shielding both of their faces from the prying view of others. Her gaze had been so intensely locked on his face she'd barely noticed. Her mouth slightly dropped open at the sight of it.

His hair was the most striking and unnatural shade of silver she'd ever seen in her life. Stunning platinum strands contrasted beautifully with the exotic features of his face. It cascaded down his broad shoulders, the very ends of it brushing the middle of his back. His bangs, layered, choppy and thick, fell over his eyes slightly, making him look even more mysterious and inscrutable.

"Y-your hair!" She exclaimed stupidly. "It's—"

"Silver. Yeah, I know." The nameless man cut a grin at her, looking sheepish for the first time. He brushed a few of the strands away from his face.

As if his abstract hair wasn't enough to stop traffic, there was something…sharp on his hands, where dull nails should have been. Kagome had to narrow her gaze to truly understand what they were before they widened again in understanding. He had very, _very,_ sharp nails…like talons, almost. Kagome shook her head. No, that wasn't right. They weren't just sharp nails. They were _claws. _He had two hands with sharp, frightening claws that could probably rip her to shreds in the matter of mere seconds.

All breath left her as the obvious suddenly slammed into her like a freight train. The tightly wound muscles she'd felt flexing underneath her hands. The hair. The claws. His _eyes, _which would forever haunt her like a restless spirit. "You're…you're a—"

"A demon," he finished for her again when he noticed her fumbling over her words. "Glad to see you can come to rational conclusions."

She felt a muscle in her cheek jump. It was…unnerving, the comfortable way he spoke to her. "Yes, well." She brushed herself off and rightened her dress, pushing her now disheveled hair out of her face, a flush taking over her cheeks. She was embarrassed. "Thank you for catching me. I appreciate it, but I should be going now."

She made extra sure to not look in his eye, distrust, not for him, but for _herself. "Damn him and his perfectly charming face. And damn me for being effected." _She grumbled and swept past.

Just as she thought their encounter would be over, a cool hand wrapping around the pulse point in her wrist made her pause, but she didn't turn._ No._ She couldn't look at him. She wouldn't.

"Keh. Thats how you're going to be?" She heard the snicker in his voice and didn't have to see his face to know he was grinning. "Trip over me with the grace of a newborn giraffe," her brow twitched again at his rough analogy, "-and then you run away. Don't you think that's kinda rude?"

Kagome shook her head, still refusing to look at him directly. Her eyes wandered over toward the sea instead, seeking its comfort, its constant and gentle rocking. "Nope. I don't." He scoffed.

Somehow she kept her voice distantly sober. "Now," she yanked her hand out of his grip, not liking how his touch made her want to melt into a puddle of goo. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go see my friend about something. It was very nice meeting you Mr….?" She trailed, fishing for a last name. If she never saw him again (which pained her to think about, really) she at least wanted to know the mans name.

Instead of simply answering her and letting her go on her merry way, he chuckled easily in amusement, circling around and standing in front of her once more.

_"I should know by now that this guy'd be too stubborn for something like that," _the young girl thought. A piece of obsidian hair fell in her face. She pursed her lips and blew it away.

When their gazes crossed paths again she hastily looked away, only to have it drawn right back when he lost patience and grasped her chin between his pointer finger and thumb, forcing her to look at him. The sharp nail on his thumb just barely below her bottom lip while his pointer finger rested underneath her chin, keeping her in place. Kagome felt her anger flare.

_"What's he doing?! What does he _think _he's doing? Creep!" _Never before had she been man-handled as she was now and, as badly as she wanted push away the stranger standing before her, she found she could only stand stock still while she tried to persuade all of her disobeying limbs to move in any direction.

He leaned close, only leaving a small amount of space between the two of them for her chest to heave up and down while her lungs fought, practically _clawed,_ for oxygen. His warm breath fanned over her face somewhat. He was seemingly not effected by the intimate situation he was forcing on her, only his yellowed eyes betrayed him. They were swimming with amusement and mild curiosity.

"Inuyasha," he finally muttered after a dramatic pause, showing off a bit of seductive fang in-between his lips as they spread apart. "My name's Inuyasha. None of that Mr. crap, understand? I get that enough from everyone else."

"Inuyasha," Kagome echoed back in a breathless whisper, finding herself nodding despite the commanding tone in his voice and the frantic fluttering of her heart. She liked it, his name. Liked the way it felt slipping past her lips.

A muffled smile erupted across his face and he straightened and her gaze was forced to follow. Satisfied, he shoved both hands into the pockets of his pants. "How about you? You have a name?" He was acting a bit cheeky now, tilting his head to the side.

She brushed some hair behind her ear, nibbling on her lip at the intense stare he kept giving. Surely he was aware of how effected she was. "I'm—"

"Kagome!" Came an exasperated voice from somewhere behind her. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you. Mom say's its time to get ready."

Kagome turned, saw Souta standing impatiently behind her, arms crossed, one of his worn sneakers tapping against the deck irritatedly, and wondered how long he'd been standing there watching them. How much had he seen? How much had he heard? Inuyasha shifted from one foot to the other, appearing slightly uncomfortable for the first time. Kagome figured his thoughts must've been running along the same lines.

Souta gave nothing away. His eyes merely kept shifting back and forth between her and Inuyasha and finally one of his brows rose as if to say _Well? Who's he?_

She cleared her throat and pulled Souta to her side, smiling pleasantly. "I'm sorry Inuyasha," she apologized, taking full advantage of using his name. "This is my brother Souta. Souta, this is Inuyasha. We just met."

Inuyasha bowed his head politely. "Nice to meet you, squirt."

Souta nodded his head at the new acquaintance, muttering a dismissive, "Hey," before glancing away.

Kagome rolled her eyes and, not for the first time that day, a hot blush claimed her cheeks. "I'm sorry for my toad of a brother. He can be kind of rude sometimes."

Souta spun around to properly glare at his sister. "Hey! I am not a _toad. _If anybody in the family is a fly eating amphibian its you."

Kagome growled, embarrassed that Souta was acting this way in front of, not only a guy, but a stranger. "Why you little…" She reached out to attack him when a chuckle snared both siblings attention. They stopped, both heads popping up. It was Inuyasha. He was watching them with a stifled smile, like he was trying his damnedest not to laugh.

Both siblings paused in their miniature rivalry to stare quizzically at him. "Whats so funny?" Kagome asked.

The demon shook his head, his well toned chest shaking with repressed laughter. "Nothin'. It's just that you both remind me of me and my brother when we argue." For a moment his face grew thoughtful, that small line across his forehead reappearing. "Course, when we argue, we usually end the fight by trying to kill one another."

Souta sent Kagome a look, rotating his pointer finger around his temple in the universal sign for _'crazy' _which earned him a glare. "Well, anyway," Souta continued when Kagome nudged him in the ribs."We should get going. Kagome has a pretty important dinner she's going to tonight."

Inuyasha's attention peaked, his eyes suddenly taking on a very Un-characteristic gleam. "That so?" He glanced at Kagome and she flushed.

"Yeah. It's this stuffy gala dinner that my mother was invited to by the Taishō family. She wrangled me into going." Her hands started wringing themselves out; a nervous habit. "I'm wearing this dress I can hardly breathe in and shoes I can hardly walk in. So I'll probably be a walking mess by the end of the night." She was babbling. She could _hear _herself babbling and yet she kept going.

Souta, looked completely uninterested. He could've cared less. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was gazing at Kagome like she was some kind of marvel, a fascinating creature.

He was absorbed in the adorable way her hands kept fiddling with each other, the way she kept gnawing on her lip when she paused in-between her words. How her nose wrinkled ever so slightly when she smiled. She was so much different the high-society girls he usually had to be forced into company with. So refreshing and unsure of herself. He realized that while he had continued to stare, Kagome had finished with her ramblings and was looking at him just as intensely with those blue-grey eyes that had drawn him in so easily.

"I'm sure you won't be a walking mess," he assured her softly, not mentioning that he himself was going to be at the gala as well. _"Might as well surprise her," _he thought with a well hidden smirk.

Souta groaned at the moderately mushy moment between the two (he never, _ever_ wanted to see his sister being hit on) and turned, starting to head back toward their cabin. "Anyway, come up the room soon Kagome," he tossed over his shoulder. "It was since meeting you, Inuyasha," he added like it was an afterthought before rounding the decks corner.

Kagome was left alone with Inuyasha; a demon who had rendered her motionless, speechless, and pretty much everything-less.

She took a few steps back, not turning around so she could keep her eye on him as long as possible. "I should be heading back."

He felt himself take a few steps forward, as if an invisible cord attached them both and while Kagome continued to move back, he was tugged forward. "Yeah. I guess you should. Don't want to be late for that walking mess, right?"

Kagome sent him a withering glare which he chuckled at. Her face softened and she stopped moving while Inuyasha continued to approach. "It was nice meeting you," she muttered quietly as he came to loom before her. He really was tall compared to herself. She had to lean her head back to see all of him. "And, again, thanks for catching me."

Still gazing down at her he mumbled, "No problem."

She bit her lip, not missing the way his eyes zeroed in on the action, his pupils dilating. Her knees practically buckled. This man was a walking talking seduction. "I'll catch you later…." Her soft words sounded more like a hesitant question rather than a statement by the lilt in her tone, as if she was asking him if they _were _going to see each other again.

A sphinx-like grin broke his lips. He bent his head forward towards her, his hand coming to rest on the wall behind her so she had nowhere else to look—escape. "There's only so many places a person can hide on a ship. We're bound to run into each-other sometime."

He was trying to sound blasé about the whole thing, trying to play it cool. But she misinterpreted it as him being indifferent, as if he was really saying he didn't care either way if they met up again or not. A frown pulled at her lips and her eyes drifted downward, disappointed. And so he quickly added, "Besides, I'm a demon," offhandedly he gestured to his powerful nose, and her eyes leveled with his again. "I can sniff you out if I have to."

She finally smiled a small smile. "Okay. I''ll see you later then, I guess."

"Ok." He repeated, hopeful.

And then there came a powerful shift—so strong and so dynamic. The world they both knew spun on its axis and the proverbial clouds parted. It was this moment that they both knew nothing would be the same again though they couldn't comprehend why. Both their hearts began beating incessantly; a strange tattoo that neither had heard before. Kagome gulped at the sound, positive that it was beating so loudly he could hear it.

Inuyasha, on his part, _could _hear her heartbeat. Could hear her pulse throbbing in her veins and it only furthered to make his own heart thump harder underneath his ribcage.

_"What is she doing to me?" _He wondered, golden eyes glazing over. His breathing was becoming more labored, strained. He was sure he was wheezing by now. Wheezing like a nerdy kid with asthma in gym class. _"I need to know her. I need to _have _her."_

_"Then take her," _a primitive, snarling voice growled in the back of his mind, lurking in the same spot it always did; his inner demon. It was the one thing that made him act the way he was currently and it was constantly there, always loitering under the surface of his psyche. It loved to shove him out of his comfort zone and watch, amused, as he floundered. It was a cruel bastard that way.

_"I've seen how you've been watching her. Just take her, bed her, and make her yours." _Inuyasha was only half listening, one ear trained on the sound of the evil being in his head— the sound the demon licking it's nonexistent chops at the look of Kagome's pale, unmarked neck—and the other concentrated on the sound of her subtle whooshing as her lungs expanded in labored breaths. He was torn.

_"No. You're spineless is what you are. Can't you see what a prize you have right in front of you?" _The gritty voice purred. _"Just look!"_

Kagome, unaware of the internal battle he was currently having, shifted and licked her lips, silently wondering if he was going to lean in all the way and kiss her.

Inuyasha's eyes were drawn to her pale neck, then downward to her heaving chest, watching, a man entranced, as her breasts pushed against the fabric of her dress with each shaky intake of breath. He felt flush creep hotly up his throat and neck, realizing with a disgusted jolt how perverted he was acting. He lifted his head, forcing his gaze upward.

_"You want her," _the voice rumbled_. "And I know you want her because _I_ want her."_

_"What about Kikyo?" _He challenged defiantly.

The crude voice scoffed. _"You know she isn't what I want. Sure she's hot, but she has some serious vanity issues." _Inuyasha couldn't find himself to deny that. _"So just take Kagome." _He could see his demon smirking in his minds eye, his blood red eyes flashing hungrily, the dark violet stripes on its cheeks darkening lustfully. _"I'm sure she wouldn't mind a good romp in the hay."_

_"I can't just _take _her," _his hands clawed flexed against the wall behind Kagome's head in frustration._ "It's more complicated than that!"_

_"Oh?" _The voice sounded intrigued now, wanting to hear his explanation for this one._ "And that would be…?"_

_"That she's different, you idiot!"_

_"And how would you know that? You barely met the girl five minuets ago."_

_"I know her." _Inuyasha unnoticeably shook his head. "_I know her like that back of my hand. Don't ask me how, I just do."_

He could practically see the demon, wild and untamable, sneer at his logic. _"You're pathetic. A weakling." _Inuyasha didn't disagree.

Kagome watched the emotions flicker across his face and smiled almost sadly to herself, sympathetic in how he was feeling. It was all there—the urge to kiss him until they both saw stars. But it just wasn't right and the thought made her cringe. They barely knew one another and she was definitely not the type of girl to kiss a stranger she'd barely known for fifteen minuets. No matter how badly she wanted to.

"Goodbye, Inuyasha." She finally murmured, knowing in her heart this wouldn't be the last time they met. And if she didn't leave now…she might never be able to walk away. She squeezed her way around him.

"Kagome," his voice rumbled, as by way of a goodbye, giving her one last lingering look that would have her feeling dizzy until she reached her room. She sent him a quick smile then slipped around the corner, out of sight but definitely not out of mind.

* * *

Kagome sighed as she entered their stateroom. Her body sagged against the back of the cabin door as it closed, a dreamy smile lingering on her lips. The small room was quiet except from the monotone utterance coming from the small TV across from the beds. Mrs. Higurashi and her grandfather seemed to be missing, Souta sat alone, though Kagome wasn't paying much attention.

Her mind was still reeling from her encounter with Inuyasha. The way he'd talked to her, held her, _gazed _into what felt like her very soul…all of it made her bewildered. On her way up to the cabin she had been so lost in her thoughts that she'd gotten lost _twice, _and eventually had to ask for directions.

Kagome had only had one solid boyfriend in her life and male attention was far and few in-between. When she'd been in high school the guys had thought she was a little weird. Between working hard at her grandfather's shrine, she studied constantly so she could get into a decent collage. Which left little time for herself let alone a boyfriend. It wasn't until her first year at collage that she'd met her first true boyfriend, Hojo.

Hojo, a perky blue-eyed, brown haired overachiever, had been kind and caring to her, sometimes overly attentive, but sweet nonetheless. They had been set-up on a blind date by their mutual friends. Unlike her encounter with Inuyasha, there hadn't been sparks or magical imaginary fireworks, but there were some feelings between them. Mainly feelings of friendship but feelings nevertheless. They'd dated exclusively for several months until Hojo had become severely preoccupied with medical school and became even more distantly emotionally and physically. After little less than a year of dating Kagome had eventually broken it off and they'd gone their separate ways, somehow still friends.

That was that. A recap of her love life. If you could even call it that. It was blander than a diet plan, and so this new encounter was certainly grounds for a whirl wind of confusion and giddiness.

At the sound of her entrance, Souta glanced up from the TV and the program he was watching. "Sis what took…you so…long." He drawled out, eyes narrowing, taking in the dazed look on her face. "Hey. Kagome." She didn't respond. She actually seemed to be…_humming _to herself, lost in her own fantasy world. "You might want to take care of those birds."

Kagome finally seemed to come back down to earth, though her eyes were still glossy. "What?" She blinked. "What are you talking about? What birds?"

Souta's mouth hitched in a taunting smirk, reclining on the bed that they were sharing during the voyage despite the siblings strong reluctance. "The lovey dovey ones flying around your head."

She pushed away from the door, a scowl overtaking the dreamy one. "You think you're so funny, huh? Well," she paced around the bed, suddenly looking extremely nonchalant. "What would happen if I did _this?" _She snatched the pillow from behind his head, the one he was using for his comfort, and then proceeded to pummel him with it.

"Hey!" He laughed, trying to thwart of the blows. "Just pointing out the obvious." He grabbed the pillow just as it was about to strike, flinging it to the side.

Kagome lifted the hemline of her dress and sat down on the edge of the bed, mimicking her younger sibling and reclining lazily. They sat in comfortable silence for a few long moments, both staring at the flickering seen of the TV, watching some type of generic game show.

Kagome's mind, though, was still lingering on the subject of a certain silver haired demon with a crooked smile and a one-sided dimple. Her heart lurched treacherously in her throat at the thought of him. Never had she been so effected by someone. Her stomach was still in knots. Her palms were clammy. She tried to wipe her hands discreetly on her dress, glancing out the corner of her eye to see if Souta had forgotten about the whole thing.

Fate wouldn't be so kind. Souta was already looking at her, smug and a little to self-satisfied for a fourteen-year-old.

"So." Placing his chin in the palm of his hand, he leaned in close like they were gossiping girlfriends. "That Inuyasha guy was pretty something, wasn't he?"

"Ugh." She tossed her hands into the air, shoving herself up. "I knew you weren't going to drop it."

"I never picked it up in the first place. But while we're on the subject, why don't we talk about how dreamy his eyes were?" He bat his own muddy brown eyes obnoxiously, his voice going into a girlish register as he mocked her. Just as Kagome stuck her tongue out at him the cabin door swung open, revealing their mother and grandfather back from a day of roaming the ship.

"You are so annoying," the young woman muttered, stalking across the room, heading for the bathroom.

Souta merely snickered, loving the game of annoying his sister. "I notice you didn't deny it!" He hollered after her in a singsong tone when she'd shut the bathroom door to block him out. He sniggering grew worse at the resonating sound of Kagome letting out a guttural sound of frustration.

"Leave you two alone for five minuets and you start fighting just as bad as a cat and a dog," Mrs. Higurashi chuckled lovingly and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead. She then busied herself with getting ready for the evening.

Their grandfather wasn't so passive. "You need to be nicer to your sister, young man." He wagged a spindly finger in the young boys face, squinty eyes deep with wisdom.

"Gamps," Souta whined, rolling both his eyes and head before collapsing back on the bed.

In the small, oval shaped bathroom of the small cabin, Kagome smirked at her reflection as she overheard. These were the kind of moments she loved having with their family, though she'd never actually said it aloud. They all just felt…whole, together somehow. Even with the petty bickering.

Locking the door for privacy, she shed her clothes. The material fluttered around her body before slipping to the ground where it pooled around her bare ankles. Cool air coming from a vent above her head had her shivering, goosebumps welting her fine skin. She bit her lip, wrapping her arms around her body and moving for the shower faucet, turning the sparkling silver handles all the way so the water was piping hot.

The water streamed down from the shower head, pounding against the bottom of the tub. Kagome stepped in, pale toes gripping the slippery bottom as she moved underneath the wonderfully searing water. The droplets raced down her body over her shoulders and down her back, soothing muscles she hadn't even realized were tensed and sore. She lingered greedily under the water, taking her time, washing her body slowly so she wouldn't have to get out.

As the sun began to dip towards earth as it set, Kagome finally shut off the water. Obsidian pieces of hair clung to her scalp and sides of her face like spider webs, her arm reaching for a clean, rolled up towel. She ambled up to the mirror, water dripping off her body and slicking the tiled flooring. Her eyes looked over her own reflection in the foggy mirror before slipping down to the makeup case which sat on the countertop, fairly unused.

Kagome never was one for makeup or girlish things. Never had been. It wasn't her strong suit and even when she tried her attempts where always clumsy at best. But tonight…tonight she needed to look flawless. She needed to look like her beauty came naturally. Easily. Kikyo's superb image, perfect down to every last eyelash, suddenly flashed into her mind.

_No_. She squared her shoulders and looked determinedly at herself in the mirror. Tonight was definitely not the night to do a botched job on her appearance. Eyeing the makeup case as one would eye their worst enemy or foe on a battle field, Kagome took a determined breath, picked up a brush and got to work.

Twenty minuets later, after a whole lot of primping and preparing, Mrs. Higurashi slipped on a pale, A-lined dress that fell to her knees. The pale green color of the material brought out the color of her eyes and fair skin tone. She brushed out the pleated material with her palms, gazing at herself as best as she could. Her short brown pixie cut was brushed, and small ringlets framed her face. Her makeup was light, neutral and subtle. She looked lovely.

"Come along, Kagome," she called as she grabbed the invitation to the dinner from the nightstand placed in the corner of the room. "We're going be late."

"Yeah," Souta pipped in, scowling as Gramps switched the channel. "You're never even going to be able to go at this rate if you keep staring at yourself in there."

The bathroom door was suddenly thrown open and in a blur Kagome rushed out in a towel. "I know I know." She darted for the closet where her dress was hanging in a garment bag, pressed and neat. She hurried back into the bathroom before anyone got a real good look at her. "I just need to put on my dress and I'll be right out."

Souta shook his head as he heard the bag being zipped open. His sister was such a slow poke. Mrs. Higurashi slipped on a pair of pearl earrings and then reached for her shoes—two cream colored heels. She had just slipped on the second shoe, opening her mouth to call for her daughter, when the bathroom door creaked open again, this time hesitantly.

She looked up and saw her daughter standing in the doorway, a shy expression on her face, her hands twisting in the material of her dress like a mousy little girl, and found herself staring. Even Souta had gone quiet, mouth agape in silence for once, and not with rambling words like usual.

"Well?" Kagome asked with a slightly raise brow, clearly assuming the worst reasons behind her family's sudden long stretch of silence. "What do you think?"

Mrs. Higurashi was at a loss. She couldn't even begin to adequately describe how her daughter looked like. It would never be enough. She shook her head, a broad and proud smile on her face. "You look beautiful."

* * *

**A/N: _I'm not particularly sure if I like the slightly cliffy ending to this chapter but I had to stop it there. Either that or I probably would've never stopped. I hope you all liked this chapter so much you're scurrying to write me an awesome review of what you thought. If not….well…then this conversation just got awkward ;)_**

**_I'll probably update sometime next week. I've finished the next chapter but I want to make sure that everything is perfect before I publish. I'm currently working on chapter four and five and those should be finished fairly soon. Stayed tuned. Until next time, stay awesome!_**


	3. The Gala Part I

**_-_:- Adrift -:-**

.:_An Inuyasha Fan-Fiction:._

**_Author: _**_B-mo_

**__****Disclaimer:** _I do not own Inuyasha. But seriously? I really wish I did. _

**_Summary: _**Three days. They had been stranded in a raft, bobbing up and down at mercy of the constant roll of waves for three days already and no one had come. No matter how hard she tired to occupy her mind with other things, busy her brain with anything else so she wouldn't go crazy, she still couldn't get around the fact that they were stranded at sea, lost without a locator to alert anyone to their current position. Kagome definitely wasn't a dumb girl; she knew that no one knew where they were. No one was coming for them.

They continued to drift.

**BeforeNote:**

_'Ello my lovelies. I apologize for this **very** late chapter update__. The chapter didn't help me very much by refusing to be written and I needed to find my muse and had to re-write the draft multiple times. ____Moreover, I wrote so much (a curse or a blessing?) that I decided to split this chapter in two. I hope that no one minds too much. And if you do…I'm sorry?_

_I additionally want to take the time to thank all of my reviewers so far (**THANK YOU!**) because you guys are amazing and totally deserve it. And a hug. And a cookie. _

_Will you all settle for, not one, but _two _update chapters and a virtual hug?_

_-B-mo_

**___›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹_**

_Welp. Here goes nothing. Cross our legs, dot our eyes and lets all jump right into it shall we?_

* * *

**Chapter 3. The Gala Part I**

Crimson was truly her color, he decided. She was predestined to wear the shade.

She turned, placing a shining diamond stud in one ear. He caught a glimpse of the drastic plunge in the back of the snug dress. The whole back of the material seemed to be missing, framing the curve of her hips in a large U shape. Thick red straps twined over her lower back and up around her shoulders, resting underneath below her shoulder blades.

Rouge material snaked over her shoulders where it then dropped down her body in drastic dips where it flared out slightly at her feet. Hugging her tightly like a snug second skin the fabric wrapped around her trim waist and hips, accentuating her lean figure.

The dark stands of her hair she'd styled up on the crown her head in a series of delicate loose loops where the rest of it fell in one long dark spiral. The lone curl bounced against her pale, naked back. Pearls hung around her throat, right above her collar bone, accenting the modestly low cut neckline on the gown that was tasteful and somehow still alluring.

The room lights were dimmed softly, filling the suit with a cozy glow as the sun began to set outside the ship in a beautiful wash of colors. She felt his eyes upon her when she turned slightly, and was somewhat surprised to find him apprizing her from his spot on the lounging chair.

His body was stretched out in a recline. One of his legs was crossed over a knee at the ankle, a clawed hand twirled a glass of complimentary wine that had been sent to his room. The other hand trailed lazily across his mouth. Along with his expression, his eye were unreadable.

She grinned and stood fully in front of view, rubbing her palms down the front of the finely spun fabric. "Well? What do you think?" She gave a careful little twirl, making sure as to not disturb any of her hairpins or trip over the material pooling at her ankles.

Her dark eyes were catlike, captivating, and partially hidden under smokey makeup. On her lips she wore a smirk and ruby red lipstick. He forced his eyes up to meet her stare.

"You look…" He floundered, not really sure what to say. She looked beautiful—breathtaking even. Seductive if she wasn't trying. Which, Inuyasha figured, she probably was. But while she _was _indeed lovely, he couldn't conjure up any words that would solely compliment her. Words that wouldn't unjustly stroke her already incredibly large ego._  
_

"Yes?" She pressed, eager to hear what he thought.

"You look—" There was a soft knock at the door and Inuyasha sprang up from his spot, hurrying to answer it, grateful for the sudden distraction.

"Sorry," he muttered halfheartedly when Kikyo sent him an annoyed look.

Sesshomaru stood in the hallway as Inuyasha opened the door, appearing debonair in a dark tux and matching cummerbund. His hair had been brushed to a sheen and was secured at the nape of his neck in a low tail, each strand of hair glistening under the hallway lights.

One of his heavy eyebrows rose when his younger sibling made no attempt to let him in. "Shall we be going then?" He drawled in a firm tone. "The guests of honor should not be absent for the dinner they're hosting."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes but gathered his own suit jacket from where he'd tossed it haphazardly on the back of the sofa nonetheless. He slipped an arm in one of the sleeves. "We're not even hosting the stupid thing; dad is."

"Indeed." Bright yellowed eyes blinked dully, unfazed. "However, you know as well as I that father is unable to attend when he isn't on the ship at present."

"Yeah. 'Bout that." Inuyasha leaned in the doorway, patting down his suit until most of the wrinkles were straightened out. "Why didn't he come on this trip, again? You both keep skirting around the question when I ask. Whats that about?"

Something flashed in Sesshomaru's eyes, causing his usual stone-faced facade to shatter briefly. He quickly squashed the emotion down before Inuyasha got a true look at it.

"It's best to keep your nose out of subjects that aren't your business. Remember that, Little Brother. Or it may end up being your own undoing." His stare lingered for a moment before he turned and swiftly strode down the long hallway just as Kikyo joined Inuyasha in the doorway.

"Let us be going," the daiyōkai called over his shoulder when he heard no one moving after him. "I will not be late."

Inuyasha peered after his brothers broad back, wondering just what it was _exactly _that had caused such a reaction. It was as if Sesshomaru were a beehive and Inuyasha was some kid who poked him with a stick, causing him to thrum with sudden pent-up aggravation.

Kikyo lightly laughed, trying to cover up the vaguely awkward air that had fallen in wake of the conversation. "Well, if we are late, it definitely will be fashionably."

She gathered up her skirt at the knee so she could move more efficiently, revealing a pair of red stilettos with sparkling rhinestones embedded in the heels. She trailed after Sesshomaru, chin high, shoulders relaxed.

Stepping into the hall and allowing the door to close, Inuyasha shook his head while he watched the two of them head for the elevators—both of them walking with a strong, superior gait that came naturally.

Inuyasha gently probed his scalp before moving after them, examining to see if the clips pinching his ears were securely in place. He needed to be extra sure the two objects which told the tale of his half-demon background were covered, hating the thought of any one of those stuck up bastards at the party seeing them and giving him grief.

_"You just don't want Kagome to see them," _a voice spoke in his subconscious; his human side he presumed.

While his demon was rough and downright feral, his human side was more gentle and caring for other's feelings even when they really didn't deserve it. However, just because the side was definitely more _mortal, _that didn't mean it wasn't as blunt and arrogant as the rest of him.

_"You don't want her to know," _it carried on._ "You don't want her to see you as anything less than perfect; a full-demon. You think _she'll _think you're weak. Am I right?"_

His hand came up to loosen the black tie around his throat, the noose squeezing too tightly around his windpipe suddenly. "Shut up," he muttered to….himself.

Draping one hand in his front trouser pocket and shooing his humanoid voice away like an irritating gnat, trying to appear as self-assured and poised as his elder brother and Kikyo, Inuyasha started after them. He straightened his spine, lengthened his strides, lifted his chin and aligned his back. All the while placing an arrogant smirk on his lips.

This was it. This was the act he portrayed and, like a well seasoned performer, he played it well.

Once Inuyasha stepped into the elevator car and the doors clanked shut, Sesshomaru inclined his head toward Kikyo in a barely there gesture. "You look ravishing this evening."

With a demur smile Kikyo slipped her hand into the crook of Inuyasha's elbow. "Thank you." She then peered up and over at the half-demon who only narrowed his eyes at his sibling. She quirked her brow when he finally looked back at her, and silently asked _'Why couldn't you have said that instead?'_

Inuyasha simply shook his head and glanced away. All three rode down in thick silence before exciting the car when it deposited them on the main floor.

The day was growing late in the evening, not yet dusk but the sun was beginning to drift lower and lower in the sky. Most of the passengers that had been out, enjoying the warm sunlight and fresh air, were steadily making their way back inside. Inuyasha growled mutely at the lack of space while they continued to weave in-and-out of the swarmed halls.

The moment they finally made if out of the more congested part of the ship, Sesshomaru took the lead, heading them all toward the landing above the main staircase. He paused there and Kikyo and Inuyasha stepped up beside him look over the scene below. A substantial crowd consisting of finely dressed demons and humans had gathered outside the unopened doors of the larger ballroom aboard, mulling about patiently.

The floor of the event was an absolute mass of swirling taffeta, silk, and chiffon. Females, human _and _demoness', had swarmed to the event. Demonesses had on striking gowns of a more dramatic color, as a way to show off in front of the subdued humans.

They all flashed the same dazzling smiles, almost as brilliant as the sparkling diamonds they put on display with no limited amount of subtlety. The men were dressed in finely pressed suits and tuxedos, looking like a flock of rouge penguins. As the invited sipped on complimentary pre-dinner wine, the combined chatter was loud.

The dull sight was enough to bore Inuyasha to tears and when he glanced at Kikyo knew that the same couldn't be said for her. She had ruffled up a bit, standing even more confidently (if that were possible).

Inuyasha turned his body slightly, already willing to leave. The bottle of wine sitting in his room was practically calling his name and a little bit of solitude sounded a lot more appealing than a snore fest dinner gala. However, the abrupt sound of his brothers voice and Kikyo squeezing his arm, confining him by her side, made him go no further.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Sesshomaru's firm and somehow booming voice reverberated through the passengers below, commanding the attention in the room to zero in on him.

The buzzing crowd fell quit, turning to gaze at the two Taishō brothers and the charming young women draped over the younger brothers arm like an expensive throw rug.

"It is an honor to have you here with us tonight," he continued. "We are pleased you could all make it. My father sends his regards to you all and apologizes for his absence. He is at this very moment holed up with some…._work, _and couldn't possibly make it. However, he does wish you will have a wonderful time and enjoy everything Sō'unga corp. has to offer. Now, may the ushers open the doors, and let us begin the evening."

Sesshomaru gestured for the men positioned at the four main doors to open them with a subtle flick of his hands before folding them in front of himself fluidly. Large white doors with golden molding round the edges were thrown open at the command by obedient ushers wearing starched collars and white gloves.

Kikyo's mouth formed her usual tight lipped smile while she simultaneously picked up her skirt. As their arms were still tightly intertwined, Inuyasha was forced to follow when Kikyo advanced for the staircase. Sesshomaru joined them like a towering shadow and the trio made way into the crowd. A crowd that would undoubtedly swallow them all whole with mindless chit-chat, petty smiles and fake flattery.

Every natural instinct in Inuyasha's body was screaming at him to flee, run, get away and stay away. Yet he was trapped and there was no place to go but down.

_"Here we go," _he thought sullenly, placing on that smug, self-same grin, and kept advancing into the fray.

* * *

"Here we go." She pepped quietly to herself as couples dressed to the nines passed her by, gliding down the staircase and entering the ballroom. "You can do this."

The young woman had secluded herself in a corner off the side of all of the flourish in activity to give herself a moment, allowing her mother to go ahead and find the table at which they'd be seated.

She paced back in forth in front of a table with an elegant white flower arrangement on top, one of many centerpieces that were scattered throughout the whole room. She turned once she'd reached the end of the table like she had a dozen times or so now, moving aside the skirt of her dress behind her so she wouldn't trip.

Her nerves were on overdrive, fingers practically shaking and hands trembling. She was filled with the panic at the certainty of mingling with well-off people. Being in large crowd had always made her feel claustrophobic and flighty. The ever-pressing fact that everyone invited was disgustingly wealthy did very little to temper her jitters.

An unfamiliar presence grated against her miko senses from somewhere behind and she tensed instinctually. Not quite demon but definitely not human either, the sense pressed down on Kaome's sixth sense, made her chest feel heavy and her head light. The strange force in and of itself wouldn't have been strange, but the aura was so dark and filled with malice it rocked Kagome to her core. She'd never felt evil like this before.

Distinct footfalls fell behind her and she started a bit when that unfamiliar presence drew nearer just as a deep voice spoke.

"Kikyo. It has been a long time, hasn't it?"

"I'm sorry I'm not—"

She began to turn around and tell who ever had mistaken her for the famous model that she was not, in fact, Kikyo. That the unidentified had simply made a mistake. When she came face-to-face with a somehow strange and foreboding man, however, all breath in her chest fled.

The man she faced was a cruel kind of beauty; gaunt and handsome. His body, arms and legs spider-like and long, filled an expensive suit. High cheekbones and a severe nose were framed by obsidian tendrils, each of the strands as dark as ravens wings. The length of his mane tumbled over narrow shoulders, ending in the middle of his back in a flood of inky, black waves.

But it was his eyes that knocked the wind from her lungs. Sunken into his face with thick, fringed lashes fanned over them. Though the irises of his eyes were the shade crimson, of fierce passion, of _blood, _they also held a type of foreboding humor that made Kagome's insides kink. She was surprised to find that something in herself disliked him immediately.

Lengthy, slender fingers—the appendages also reminding Kagome of a spider—twisted the card invitation to the dinner in his other hand.

Aome took him all in with one single sweep of her eyes and nearly retched when that evil aura surrounded her again. It was him, she realized. It was his aura that was making her feel ill.

"I-I'm sorry, but I'm not h-her." She finally managed, mentally scolding herself for stuttering. She tried again, more forcefully. "I am not Kikyo."

The man simply grinned despite being misguidedly unfounded, dark eyes narrowing without losing any humor. "My apologies. You both look so similar that I mistook you for her."

Kagome managed to hold herself back from looking surprised. Her? Look like Kikyo? What, was this guy evil _and _seeing impaired?

"I must apologize again," he continued conversationally, his voice sinful, raspy. "I haven't properly introduced myself." He offered a hand, palm up, in an innocuous gesture. "My name is Naraku."

Kagome swallowed hard, knotting her hands in the material of her dress to keep them busy. The way he was looking at her was the way she imagined lions look when they stalk their pray: calculated and bloodthirsty. This combined with his off-kilter aura didn't help in alleviating her distrust.

A voice in her head screamed to run.

Somehow she found the strength to pry her nails from her dress and reached out hesitantly. "Kagome," she finally said. Her voice was full of unease.

His skin brushed against her own while he grasped her hand, causing her to gasp softly. And for a moment, just briefly, the mans crimson eyes widened. A hauntingly familiar shock quickly had whisked through his limbs…coming from the girl. The surge was swift and blinding. Like the flash of a camera. He mused on the feeling, however fleeting.

The small electroshock was not a foreign one to him, nor was it the thing that surprised him. It was the fact that the jolt, the raw power radiating from her, was so strong for such a young and…dainty girl. One would never know of her incredible aura looking at her from a distance, never truly _see _what she was. He supposed she had to be immensely capable to have such a resistant lid covering the immense ability concealed away in her.

She was truly gifted, a real treasure. If she were to be trained and harness the gift that was hidden within her bones…a shudder raced up his spine at the thought. He mentally decided to tread lightly with this one, this little _miko._ To get on her bad side could spell a detrimental outcome for him.

But if he were to persuade her to join him, to help guide him through with his plans—she could be the key to unlocking his long awaited goal.

He coolly masked his surprise over the unexpected find, pushing away the giddiness that was starting to swell in his gut over discovering such a prodigy and returned his full attention on her.

When the knobby fingers of his hand wrapped around her own, the blood rushing through Kagome's veins slammed into the chambers of her heart. She watched as he slowly bent at the waist, arching over to press his lips on her bare knuckles in a swift kiss that left her cold.

"Kagome," he returned, her name slipping from his mouth slickly like drops of rain."It's a pleasure." His hot breath swept sickly over her skin like sin itself, eyes never straying.

Relying smartly on instinct, she backed away and pulled her hand with her, simultaneously drawing a deep breath. The man's aura was utterly stifling.

"The pleasures all mine." She surprised herself with how easily the lie came.

He leaned back on his heels to gaze down at her almost curiously, in such a way that she felt akin to a new species of creature he'd stumbled upon and was examining under a microscope.

"Then perhaps I will see you in the ballroom? Maybe even share a dance?" He was hasty to cut her off when it looked like she was about to refuse. "I would be the envy of everyone in that room if I were to be in the company of such a beautiful young woman."

The young woman cringed mentally at the suggestion. But he pinned her with a long look, his expression so expectant that she found herself nodding, if only to end the conversation. "Maybe."

The answer was sufficient enough it seemed. He gave a brusque nod and breezed toward the staircase with those legs of his. "Looking forward to it," he practically purred as he brushed past, purposefully brushing a hand against her side.

She shivered at the contact and he mounted the staircase and began his descent, looking naturally collected. His feet barely touched the floor when when he moved and Kagome's expression narrowed, watching him from the corner of her vision until she could no longer spot him through the thickness of the crowd.

_"What an unusual man."_

"You know it's more fun to be a partof the party instead of just watching it." Another unidentified masculine voice rumbled from her side, appearing out of nowhere.

She squeaked and took a sidestep, head swiveling to the figure standing directly next to her. Her gaze locked with eyes bluer than the sky and wolfish grin to match. "What?"

This new man, tanned and devilishly handsome, shifted closer until he was nearly rubbing shoulders. "Well, I've been watching you stand over here for a good ten minuets and I thought you might want go and actually enjoythe fun instead of simply watching it."

She blinked. "Wha—I'm sorry?"

He shrugged like he hadn't heard a word and stepped in front of her, his body so close she could feel the warmth radiating off of his bronzed skin. Clearly he had no concept of personal space.

"You mind if escort you?" He offered the empty crook of his arm. "It's no fun to go to party alone. Although, I hardly think you can call this banquet—of the whose-who—a party," he murmured more to himself, cobalt-blue eyes sweeping over the stuffy conversations.

Any other time she might have laughed at the absurdity of him. Maybe even blushed under his attention. But tonight was very different. Tonight she wasn't to be trifled with. She wasn't some silly school girl, giggling and flushing under a good looking, and possibly wealthy, guy. Tonight she was dignified, distinguished even. And dignified women didn't waver merely under the heavy gaze of a man.

Her expression never faltered, her eyes simply raking over him in distrust and slight offense. "Yes, in fact, I do mind. I don't even know you."

He leaned back on his heels completely undeterred, allowing her a bit of breathing room. A saucy tight-lipped grin tugged at his mouth at her quick tongue when their eyes engaged. "Name's Kouga. Nice to meet you."

He was speaking comfortably with her, like old pals catching up, and she flushed before averting her gaze. Instead she turned her fleeting attention on the atmosphere of the room.

The soft, dulcet tones of a string quartet floated up into the air from the ballroom; a warm backdrop to the cocktail of conversations. Kagome's ears picked out the deep set pulse of a cello and the thrum of a bass, accompanying the sharp chirp of a lone violin. Couples, hand-in-hand, arm-in-arm, slipped down the staircase in all their formal finery, making elegant entrances into the ballroom. Kagome blanched visibly and stared down at her shoes, wondering how it would look if she arrived alone.

Would anyone notice? Would anyone know she wasn't one of them? Would she stand out amongst them like a beacon in the night? And most importantly, would anyone care?

She hesitantly raised her head and looked up into the man's—Kouga's, she reminded herself—stunning eyes once more as one of his dark brow's rose.

"Well? How about it, pigeon?" He proffered her his arm yet again, his expression expectant. "Care to dabble a little bit?"

That got her to crack and she grinned briefly despite herself. The blasé way he spoke with her was not as irritating as it had been just a few seconds earlier. He was growing on her.

A defeated puff of breath escaped her and shook her head, shooting him a slightly playfully, albeit warning glare.

"Don't get any funny ideas. This isn't a date." She growled, petulantly slipping her arm over his own.

A deep chuckle shook his chest once as they advanced, their strides finding time amongst them until they grew into a comfortable rhythm. "Duly noted."

A handful of people crossed their path as they moved for the staircase across the room. Kouga inclined his head in polite greeting to a few, obviously comrades with them somehow. Kagome watched these small interactions and him closely from the corner of her eye, trying to study him discreetly.

He truly was a handsome man, built well and fit in all the right places. He had dark hair tied in a topknot on the crown of his head. An odd brown headband pushed his bangs back. His hips were lean and narrower farther down where he tapered off with long, powerful looking legs. He moved fluidly and surly, almost cocky in the way he held and carried himself.

She was so lost in thought, gazing at him and wondering just who he was, that she jumped when something brushed against her leg.

"Sorry," he muttered, startling her further. "Damn thing gets in the way all the time."

That 'damn thing',Kagome realized with a gulp while Koga batted it away wearing a slightly irritated scowl, was long and brown and coarse with thick fur: a tail. She released a squeak and moved to scramble away. His large hand came to cover her own which was still resting on the nook of his arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Relax." A silly grin stretched across his face, revealing a set of sparkling fangs that had gone noticed until then. "It ain't gonna bite you."

"A demon. You're a demon," said Kagome, more to herself about her abrupt epiphany. She rolled her eyes for stupidly thinking otherwise. "Of course you are." She was two-for-two today when it came to meeting guys of that specific species.

He continued to swipe at his tail like it were an unruly nuisance he had no control over before it finally kept place behind him, only occasionally swishing and twitching."What gave it away? My pointed ears, my fangs, or my commanding yōkai presence?"

They resumed walking. She gave him a look. "Are you always this cocky?"

"Only on Tuesdays, and when I'm in the presence of a beautiful woman like yourself, of course."

Kagome couldn't hold back a very un-ladylike snort. So much for dignified. "Today is Friday."

Kagome laughed outright when Kouga's face morphed into honest confusion and he scratched the back of his head. "Really?" He turned to her with a rakish smirk. "It must be because I'm with a beautiful woman then."

She purposefully averted her attention from him,cheeks burning red. Though the corners of her mouth were slowly turning up.

Kouga straightened stiffly, looking unsure of himself for the first time. "By the way, whats your name? I didn't catch it."

"You didn't ask."

"Yeah, well, I'm asking now." He returned, bumping his hip into her own in a small, playful exchange.

"Kagome." Her eyes fluttered up to look at him. "My name is Kagome."

"A gorgeous name for a gorgeous girl." He tweaked his nose, crystal-blue eyes dancing with laughter.

She pressed her lips together to hold back a smirk. "That is exactly the kind of attitude that falls under the funny business category."

Kouga didn't get a chance to the reply since they'd reached the large banister of the grand stair case. He swept out his arm in an obnoxious gesture to the floor below, where the black-tie event was already in full swing. "Ready?"

He received a rather doubtful look from his unexpected companion for the evening. "As I'll ever be." The wolf man watched as Kagome's blue-grey eyes flittered around the room nervously. She unconsciously switched weight from one foot to the other in a telltale sign of restlessness.

She looked back into his eyes, her expression almost pleading. "Can you give me a little push?" She asked in a quiet peep, barley even loud enough for his sharp ears to catch.

He grinned and pressed into her slighter frame, resting a rough hand on the very feminine dip of her lower back and gently urged her forward. The collected sound of their footsteps was muffled on the red carpeted runner placed over the stairs as they began moving downward.

Kagome's right hand automatically flew to the crook of Kouga's arm and held on as if he were the only thing anchoring her to the world, while her free hand went to the polished wood of the bannister, her palm easily slipping own the smooth surface.

Every step was quite the effort, considering her legs had become boneless. Yet she held her own. She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin and attempted to smother any and all nervousness fluttering in her stomach.

Placing on an easy smile, she hid behind it like a defensive shield, silently daring anyone to tell her she wasn't just as elegant and refined as the rest of them.

* * *

Inuyasha was barely hanging on from his place on the bustling floor.

Kikyo was currently having an in-depth (and boring as hell conversation, if you asked him) conversation with a photographer. They were tossing ideas around about a possible cosmetics shoot she could be eligible for.

Sesshomaru had vanished long ago, only leaving behind the slightly threatening words of, "Take heed. I cannot uphold father's legacy all my own. Remember that, half-breed," before practically disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Kikyo's arm tightened like a cobra not willing to let its prey escape when Inuyasha tried to remove himself from the boring situation, yet she never stopped in her long-winded discussion with the gangly photographer.

Though he wore a suit, the man also had on thick rimmed glasses and looked like the type of guy who would turn thirty-something and be living with his mother still. Even with Inuyasha attached at Kikyo's hip, within the first few seconds of meeting the bombshell model the poor sap was stuttering so badly Inuyasha had half a mind to quickly pop the fool off on the top of his head and go on a hunt for a stiff drink.

With a heavy sigh he glanced away, molten eye scanning the room with mild interest. Many important people milled about, drinking, eating the hand-held appetizers while a small quartet set off in the corner of the ballroom continued to play a soothing melody. A few guests had even taken up to dancing on the designated dance floor that was placed toward the back of the room.

The one thing Inuyasha noticed the most, however, were how the demons and humans tended to stay away from the opposite species like the other creatures were rats or some kind of decease carrying insect. Demonesses were the worst about it. They stuck their perfectly sculpted noses into the air and swept past any and all humans as if they were annoying little pests under their over-expensive shoes.

Demons intermingled with demons; humans with the humans. But never intermixed.

This greatly frustrated Inuyasha to the point where his slight irritation boiled over into rage. If the humans were on one side and the demons on the other…where did that leave him? Where did he fit in?

All of his life he had been the outcast, the bastard son, the _inconvenience. _When he was a child he had always been alone. It wasn't until a few years after he'd 'joined' his fathers company that people finally ventured out and spoke to him.

Even so, he heard what the follower demons lurking around in his fathers close circles said about him behind his back, heard their whispers and their hushed gossip. Cruel they were to the hanyou and they didn't care. No one cared and it was highly doubtful they ever would.

Kikyo's pained glance suddenly came into his focus. With a quick flick of her eyes, she directed him with a look downward toward their interlaced arms. The turbulent thoughts in his head had angered him so much that he'd started to grasp her tightly. Enough that it was possibility she'd be wearing his claw marks the next day.

He hadn't realized how worked up he was making himself. He blinked his eyes quickly, in case their amber hue was starting to seep a bloodthirsty red.

When he'd made sure his pulse was under control and that his demon wasn't going to make an unexpected appearance, he pried his hand away from her skin with a sheepish look, his ire simmering into embarrassment.

Kikyo simply gazed at him with a question in her eyes and appeared almost genuinely concerned. Almost.

Inuyasha's covered his embarrassment by clearing his throat gruffly and looking away while Kikyo and the photographer resumed chatting. He spotted his only friend (if you could call the lecher that) Miroku, hitting on some athletic looking human from across the hall instantly.

The poor woman (with the sad misfortune of being hit-on by Miroku) wore a deep plum colored dress, one muscled leg peeking out from a risqué thigh-high split in the front of the satin material. Her long brown hair she wore down her back in mild waves—her makeup was smokey and luring. In her hand she held a small clutch purse.

Inuyasha couldn't help internally groaning when Miroku leaned a little to close for her comfort, caging her between a wall and himself. Her eyes flared impressively in a way Inuyasha had never truly seen in a human women when that wickedly notorious hand of his came to close and a little to low on her backside. Her body visibly tensed.

In a split second Miroku took a painful looking elbow in the gut, the woman spewing a few choice words better left unsaid. Still holding his abused stomach Miroku chased after her while she huffed away, hurriedly explaining himself with a blithe smile and apologetic words.

The half-demon was watching the scene with much amusement when he felt an abrupt sense nipping at the nape of his subconscious. Before he truly understood what was happening he was turning his head, as if he knew exactly what to look for…or more specifically _who _to look for.

His eyes flickered over in the direction of the staircase and his stomach plummeted at the sight that greeted him.

Like a feather falling through the air, Kagome drifted down the staircase. A slinky gown, the same deep blue of a midnight sky, draped tastefully over her curvy body, splaying over the width of her hips and narrow waist. Small sparkling gems were sewn into the bodice and for a moment, as she stepped down into the light, she was visibly pearlescent.

Spaghetti straps held up the garment and a heart shaped neckline emphasized her pale neck and ample bosom. The dark and rich material fell all the way down the floor narrowly and spread out behind her in a very slight train, skimming the floor in a wisp.

The silky hair on her head was curled into a small halo of ringlets, curving around the back of her head in a circlet. Her makeup was light enough that her innate allure shown through, advertising the natural features of her face; shapely cheekbones a natural rosy pink.

A slim, teardrop necklace was displayed around her throat, tastefully ending right about the swell of her breasts. She glanced downward, feathered eyelashes fluttering over her cheeks, a small smile caused the very corners of her fairly inviting mouth to twitch.

Inuyasha felt his pulse hiccup, and his heart thumped at the interruption in blood flow. She looked…celestial.

The figure helping Kagome down the steps suddenly leaned into Inuyasha's line of sight, whispering something into the girls ear.

Kagome smiled and even laughed at whatever he'd said.

Inuyasha sucked back a growl that was growing in his throat.

How _Kouga, _of all people, had sleazed his way into escorting Kagome around like long-time chums was beyond him. The wolf demon wore a ridiculously absurd grin, his gaze rarely straying from the onyx-haired beauty on his arm, an action that did not go unnoticed by the now glowering hanyou across the room.

Kagome looked up and over, her eyes sliding around the room to get a feel of the hall and ballroom. When they ran over Inuyasha, they pinned, first widening in surprise and then warming, as if she knew she'd see him sooner or later. She offered a smile and dipped her head gently as a silent greeting.

Inuyasha reciprocated the nod, one corner of his mouth turning up in a grin.

"Who is that?"

He glanced down at Kikyo, unsure if she was speaking to him or not. She stared up at him, the photographer long gone from her side. "What? Who?"

Kikyo bobbed her head in the direction of Kagome and Kouga but her eyes never inched from his face. "That girl, you were staring at her."

"Was I? Well,—I…I just—." Inuyasha cleared his throat when his voice went into a higher pitch and tried his damnedest to look one-hundred percent uninterested. "She's just some girl I met today," he shrugged, making his voice as gruff as he could manage it.

Her brow spasmed yet the rest of her expression remained truly interested."Oh?"

"Yeah. She collided into me and almost tripped. I just helped her up."

Conveniently he left out the part where he'd practically been stalking her since they cast off, how his thoughts were constantly drawn to her though he had no explanation as to why. And how _he_ was the one that actually collided into her_. _But really, it wasn't his fault. She was the one that turned around so fast. How was he supposed to know she'd go and do that?

Kikyo's eyes slid over to the figure of their conversation and both of them stood unmoving, watching the attractive pair as they advanced into the hall; Kouga grabbing a goblet of wine and Kagome politely shaking her head no to the hors d'oeuvres offered to her.

"She's very pretty," Kikyo observed quietly.

"Oh, uh, is she?" Inuyasha reached up and fiddled anxiously with the clips on his ears. "I hadn't noticed."

_"Yeah. I'll just bet you didn't," _The demon inside of him snickered.

"Why don't we go and say hello?" asked Kikyo suddenly, the pitch in her tone filled with resolve. He didn't answer right away and she glanced up at him. "We could go and talk for a little while. And catch up with Kouga."

"Feh. Why in the hell would I wanna go and talk to that mangey wolf?" He really didn't want to go talk to Kouga. The man was a walking, talking root canal and a major pain in his ass. But even more than that he really, _really,_ didn't want to go and talk to both Kouga and Kagome with Kikyo glued to his side.

"Besides," he grunted and started ushering her in the opposite direction. "We'll see them inside.. C'mon. Lets go in, find our seats and—."

"They're coming over," Kikyo interrupted suddenly.

Inuyasha halted in his progress to glance over his shoulder and saw that Kikyo was indeed right. They were heading right towards them through the crowd. Kouga even had the audacity to lift his free hand and wave obnoxiously.

"Try and behave," Kikyo murmured, hearing him emit a low pitched growl.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed to slits, fixated on the view of Kouga rubbing Kagome's hand resting on his arm. He enfolded his arms tightly over his chest to stuff his claws underneath his elbows, muttering grudgingly. "Him first."

"Fancy seeing you here, mutt-face," Kouga crowed when they eventually neared.

"It's my fathers ship, fleabag." Inuyasha snipped back. "Why wouldn't I be here?"

"No need to get testy," said Kouga with a very unusually carefree tone to his voice, gesturing to Kagome at his side. "We shouldn't fight in front of our dates."

While Inuyasha was busy twitching at Kouga referring to Kagome as his date, Kagome began elbowing her escort. "What did I say about that?"

Kouga used the palm of his hand to thump his forehead. "Oh right, right. I forgot already. Remind me again?" He flippantly winked at her and she smothered a chuckle behind her hand.

Inuyasha gnawed the inside of his cheek to keep from making any further noises of protest. They had inside jokes. _Terrific._

"I'm sorry," Kouga said to Kagome. "We're being rude. I believe introductions are in order. Kagome this is Kikyo Nakamura and her ugly mug of a date, Inuyasha." He leaned toward her and mock whispered, "Don't worry about him. He looks like he's ready to be shipped off to the pound I know, but he's really a big softy on the inside."

Inuyasha's nose wrinkled childishly. His hate-o-meter for Kouga was practically bursting. "A big softy?"

Kagome stepped forward, ending the conversation. "It's a real honor to meet you Nakamura-san. I love your work. "

"Thank you," Kikyo lowered her lashes modestly. "It's always a pleasure to hear my work is appreciated."

Kagome smiled softly, having a newfound sense of respect for the woman. And then, seemingly of their own violation, her eyes drifted to Inuyasha and her smile grew. "And I believe we've already met."

"You have?" It was Kouga's turn to frown quizzically, sharp stare ricocheting between the both of them even as he was ignored.

Inuyasha stood smugly, eyes glinting with secretive laughter while Kikyo and Kouga busied themselves with exchanging questioning looks. "Yea. 'Cept we really didn't meet so much as we did collide. Course it wasn't _my _fault. I, unlike some people, actually have a little tact."

Kagome folded her arms to mimic his overbearing stance and took a step forward. He would not intimidate her, no matter how hard he tried. "Oh yeah, how could I forget? I only have the...what was it again? The ability of a baby fawn?"

By this point in their small verbal spar Inuyasha was choking back the laughter bubbling in his throat. The girl had a smart tongue, he'd give her that much.

"The grace of a newborn giraffe," he reminded her in kind.

A muscle near her eye ticked but the smirk threatening her lips didn't waver. "Yes, that. I guess it was a good thing you were there to catch me. Otherwise I might've trampled over other passengers."

It seemed like they were the only people in the room now. Kikyo and Kouga had disappeared from their side. All of the invited guests, the loud passengers on the floors above, even the constant thrumming of the engines pushing the ship along, disintegrated into nothing. As though it were merely ash being blown away with the wind, the world faded away, until there was nothing left but the two of them standing in an empty hall, eyes staring into the other pair. They were in their own dimensional plane. Like ghosts.

"Yeah..." Inuyasha softly murmured to himself, barley audible over the loud thumping of his pulse. "It's a good thing."

His stare danced over the soft angles of her face before gliding down the rest of her. She had snared him again, every fiber within him screeching to reach out and touch her and see if this vision standing before them all was real, but was restraining every muscle and molecule in his body not to do so.

Striking grey-blue eyes soft yet questioning, Kagome peered back at him and also felt the shift in the air. Her mouth opened, paused soundlessly, and then closed again, as if the question on her tongue refused to be spoken aloud.

Inuyasha's body leaned towards her own like the invisible string attaching them had pulled taut. Their gaze met and with a narrowing of amber eyes he searched her own, mentally asking, _"What is it about you?"_

There came a condescending chuckle. "Sounds to me like you actually have some use, mutt."

The grating sound of Kouga's voice ripped through the silence and thrust both Kagome and Inuyasha from their own little world, back into the present. Sounds and sights returned tenfold to both of them. Kagome blinked rapidly and Inuyasha turned his attention on the wolf yōkai so he could give him a severely irritated look properly.

"Gee thanks," he hissed in return. Kikyo placed a calming hand on his upper arm.

The lights flickered twice, a subtle dim that let everyone know the dinner was about to begin, and the patrons still mingling in the hall moved for the ballroom collectively. The quartet had quieted down and it looked like the coordinators, all dressed in black and flittering around the floor like their backsides were on fire, were setting up for the silent auction taking place before the food was to be served.

The half-demon tensed, feeling the hand on his arm start rubbing gently.

Kikyo listed her head towards him thoughtfully. "Why don't we head inside, sweetie? I'd like to view the items on display for the auction."

Inuyasha hid a confused wince. Did she just call him _sweetie? _

"Well actually—"

"It was nice meeting you Kagome," Kikyo smiled a little too pleasantly at her.

"Oh, uh, yes. It was very nice meeting you as well," Kagome returned, though not before shooting Kouga a quizzical stare at the sudden turn in Kikyo's attitude. The other woman had been quiet up until that point, a bit reserved, though Kagome thought she was just being polite. But as the two imposing demons talked, Kagome had felt her stare—her eyes as they measured her up.

Kikyo turned to the other man as Inuyasha, being purposefully ignored, glared down his nose at her. "As always, its been a pleasure, Kouga."

His lips eased into a devious grin. "Likewise."

Inuyasha pried his mouth open to say a farewell to Kagome, if nothing else, but was pulled into the golden ballroom before he got a chance, leaving Kagome and Kouga to stare confusedly after them.

* * *

**A/N: There you are. Continue on over to the next chapter my little cottonheadedninnymuggins and enjoy the double up-datedness I have bestowed upon you all. **

**Oh! And before I forget, if any of you are concerned with how fast Inuyasha and Kagome are progressing, fear not! Theres a reason for this that won't be reveled for a little while yet. I hope this clears up a few things.**

**Also, there may be more then a few grammar, spelling and errors in these two packaged chapters as I have been racing to get these done I haven't really checked them over beside the initial sweep read I do before I work on all that. I can only offer my sincere apology and hope you will forgive me. **

**On to the next chapter you go. *Pats your bottom and shoos you away* Don't forget to ****review! **


	4. The Gala Part II

**_-_:- Adrift -:-**

.:_An Inuyasha Fan-Fiction:._

**_Author: _**_B-mo_

**__****Disclaimer:** _Lemme see. Do I own Inuyasha? *Checks to see* Nope. Still don't own him. Damn...__  
_

**_Summary: _**Three days. They had been stranded in a raft, bobbing up and down at mercy of the constant roll of waves for three days already and no one had come. No matter how hard she tired to occupy her mind with other things, busy her brain with anything else so she wouldn't go crazy, she still couldn't get around the fact that they were stranded at sea, lost without a locator to alert anyone to their current position. Kagome definitely wasn't a dumb girl; she knew that no one knew where they were. No one was coming for them.

They continued to drift.

**BeforeNote:**

_Didn't we just have a chat? _

_-B-mo_

**_›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹›‹_**

_No, seriously. I'm pretty sure we just had a chat. _

* * *

**Chapter 4. The Gala Part II**

The left side of the ballroom was bordered completely by tables with white lacy tablecloths. Miscellaneous items being auctioned sat on top of each. Underneath two large golden chandeliers lighting the grandiose room with a soft glow were the dinner tables, set respectively with decorative mauve placemats, intricate centerpieces of arranged flowers, gleaming dinnerware and blue gift bags; a small appreciative token of 'thanks' from the Taisō family to their guests for honoring them with their presence at the gala that evening.

A few attendees lingered around the auction tables, sniffing about expensive and rare items, while others slowly migrated to their tables and poked their noses into the complementary goody-bags at their assigned spots. A mere few demons and demoness's simply stood out of the way, hovering in shadows that even the chandeliers couldn't reach, watching the elaborate scene with critical multicolored eyes that left one cold.

Persnickety, fickle creatures demons were, the lot of them, the half-demon son of the Great Dog Demon thought as his gold eyes slid back to the seductive form of his red-clad date.

Pacing slowly from one piece to the next, Kikyo occasionally picked up the less expensive auction items, rotating them around in her smooth hands and placing them back down before moving on to the next thing that peaked her interest.

"What was that all about?" Inuyasha eventually asked, trailing behind at a lazily gait.

She had swept them into the grand ballroom, bypassed a few people who approached them with nothing but a quick nod and a small finger wave that annoyed Inuyasha to no end and dove into the silent auction like her life depend on it. She kept up with the pace of the line, taking a measured step to stare down at an authentic lacquered hair comb.

"What was what all about?" She muttered distractedly, leaning over slightly to look over the comb more closely.

The hand he'd previously stuffed in his trouser pocket balled into a fist. Couldn't she at least do him the curtsy of looking him in the eye while she blatantly lied to him? It was the least she could do.

He leaned the side of his hip into one of the many tables. "You know what I'm talking about. The thing, outside in the hall with Kouga and Kagome? Why'd you get all—" _Weird._

Picking up the pen and piece of paper that were laid out before the comb, she wrote down a bid for the item, ever evasive, while a very airy sigh flittered past her lips. "I have't the slightest idea what you're talking about, Inuyasha."

"Mmmhm. I'm sure you don't."

He snatched up an object from beside the comb while Kikyo busied herself with looking at anything that wasn't him and writing down on the bid card, turning what looked like a milky blue egg made of crystal in his comparatively larger hand, but placed it back down hastily like it had caught fire when he saw the steep price tag attached to it. That many zeros could have wrapped around his neck and choked him.

Kikyo turned to him suddenly and he placed on the bored frown he'd mastered when he was merely a child.

"I'm going to go find some wine," she told him, already retreating.

"Sure." He uttered thickly, the feeling of confusion causing his chest to tighten. "I uh…I guess I'll catch up with you later then."

She straightened and almost smiled, but not one of her brilliant carefree smiles. In fact, she looked pained over something. Yet she turned before he could properly address it, and was left alone with guests sidestepping around him to get at the expensive auction items.

He turned and sneered down at the cheerful looking faberge egg, as if the small decretive trinket were the main source of all of his problems. "Who'd pay that much for one stupid _egg_?"

"I find it best to avoid talking to oneself," Sesshomaru's bridled voice uttered from behind. Inuyasha swiveled, meeting the stare of the elder brother with narrowed eyes. "Others may start to wonder at the stability of your sanity."

"And I'd bet you'd just _love_ to tell me about the stability in my sanity wouldn't ya?" He gnashed back. _Damn_, why couldn't Sesshomaru just mind his own business?

The lack of control over his emotions was enough for Sesshomaru's lips to tweak with a swift smirk. "Why dignify that with a well thought-out answer when you already know?"

Inuyasha huffed and knew if his ears weren't clipped down so tightly that they would've twitched angrily. "Whaddya want Sesshomaru? Whenever you come lurking around its never good news for me. So get spillin and get gone."

With deft effortlessness Sesshomaru lifted a long and thin unwrapped box he carried beside himself and a plain bag, presenting them both to the younger inu-yokai.

"For me? Sesshomaru you should have," Inuyasha teased gruffly with an unpleasant twist of his lips.

Sesshomaru's mouth twisted back into a half-sneer. "I didn't, whelp. Father did. While we were packaging a few things for the auction, he came upon these and deemed you old enough to inherit them."

Inuyasha's brow lifted and his petulant scowl morphed into child-like curiosity. "What is it?" He reached out and gently took the plain white box in his hands, eyes widening curiously. He shook the package, listening carefully for any noise from inside.

"Be careful you little fool." Sesshomaru snapped briefly at seeing the rather harsh treatment of the hidden object. "That is essentially father's legacy left to you."

Now he was really intrigued.

Inuyasha brushed the harsh words aside and went to open the lid, only to stop when Sesshomaru set an abnormally gentle hand on his shoulder. He was about to to flick the hand off when Sesshomaru caught his gaze. There wasn't any malice or hatred towards him there like usual.

There was only some type of understanding he'd never seen, a quiet evaluation that wasn't harsh or cruel. As if his brother was truly seeing him for the first time.

"Not here," he heard him utter flatly. "Keep it somewhere safe and hidden from prying eyes. Not even that woman of yours is to see it. It is with this treasure that you make and leave your mark on this world, and only you alone can decide your fate."

Inuyasha nodded numbly, not really knowing why, shifting the package underneath his arm and gathering the bag. Sesshomaru eyed him for a touch of a second longer and then with a quick incline of his head he pivoted on his heel and strode over to a few of their fathers most important clients who graciously accepted the firstborn son of their fathers company with metaphorical open arms.

Sesshomaru seemed to meld in with the crowd of grown demon males, plucking a flute of wine from a platter offered to him. Feeling a pair of eyes still trained fully on him, he turned and peered at his little brother and, with another discreet nod, lifted the wine to his lips to take a sip and then turned back ago the group surrounding him.

Inuyasha was left with nothing but the box underneath his arm, the bag in his hand and his own thoughts.

"What was that all about?" Asked Miroku, seemingly pooping in from out of nowhere. Or maybe he had been there longer than Inuyasha realized.

Still paralyzed by confusion, Inuyasha barely acknowledged his presence as he opened his mouth to speak. "Dunno. He gave me this," he gestured vaguely to the still unknown items, "muttered something cryptic, and then walked away like it never happened."

Miroku stroked his jaw thoughtfully. "Well that does call for a rise in suspicion. And might I ask what it is?" When Inuyasha finally looked over at him, perplexed with a hint of annoyance in his expression, the slightly older man reiterated slowly, as if speaking to a particularly slow child. "The bag. The box. Whats inside?"

The half-demon shrugged one shoulder.

"Again, I dunno. He told me not to open it here. He said 'keep it hidden from prying eyes' or some other nonsense. Speaking of which," he began, clapping a hand on the shoulder of his longtime friend. "Can I keep it in your room? Just for now? My suite is far away and its annoying to walk all the way there and back."

"Oh yes. You poor, poor little half-demon," Miroku quipped sarcastically even as he reached into the pants of his tuxedo, fishing out the card-key for his cabin. "Having a suit aboard your fathers _cruising liner _can be taxing on oneself, I should imagine."

He was halfway to sticking his tongue out and Miroku appeared as if he were on the verge of doing the same. Inuyasha shifted his weight to go but paused himself when a thought struck.

He turned halfway, mindful of the long box in his care. "By the way, who was that girl you were hitting on earlier? She's quite the smokin' pistil ain't she?"

Miroku's face turned dreamy, as it always did when he thought about a good-looking woman, eyes fluttering partially. "Ahhh, that was the lovely goddess who bares the name of _Sango."_

"Sango huh?" Inuyasha grunted. "Whatever her name is I fully approve."

"You do, do you?"

Inuyasha felt his lips outspread with a devious grin. "Anyone who can hold her own against you is automatically a favorite of mine."

"Ah," Miroku held his still smarting stomach. "You saw that did you?"

He nodded. "She definitely doesn't seem like the average bimbo you usually go for. I'd be careful with this one Miro," Inuyasha warned, turning fully and striding for one set of doors.

"Oh thank you _so_ much for the advice," Miroku hollered sardonically.

Inuyasha sniggered and, after running a floor up, taking his time depositing the still mysterious objects in Miroku's room, returned to the gala where the auction had ended and dinner had already begun. Servers were moving about the room in a tizzy when he walked in, going from one table to the next to distribute meals.

Kikyo was already at their designated table when he arrived and was sipping leisurely on a glass of white wine, gazing down at the comb she'd won in the auction. She gave him a small little nod as he pulled out his chair and took his spot beside her, but otherwise said nothing and made no indications that she'd wanted that to change.

Inuyasha blocked out most of the idle chatter that was made at the large table—the conversation mostly made by demons trying to impresses Sesshomaru who sat at the head of the table—and pretend he was so engrossed with his food that nothing else caught his attention. Which wasn't hard. The meal was delicious. It was a little hard for him to not inhale all of it without choking.

A few times he discreetly searched the dinning space for Kagome. But the room was large enough that all the bobbing heads of other people eating made it impossible to see more then ten feet ahead of him. He wasn't about to crane his neck in search for her. That would look downright absurd. And Kouga sat a little ways to his right, his side noticeably devoid of any Kagome's for him to hit on.

So the hanyou stayed put, gnawing happily on the steak he ordered.

After the plates were empty and cleared by staff, the room lights dimmed and a hired Dj took his place at a small table placed at the front of the room.

Sesshomaru took the time to stand up, raise his glass and thank the invite guests again for joining them that evening in place of their father, expression as to stolid as ever. He then clasped the hand of a small human woman Inuyasha and never seen before in his life, and drifted soundlessly onto the dance floor where the pair commenced the first dance.

The song floating through well hidden speakers was soft and dulcet. Kind of like the woman in Sesshomaru's arms. She was so…tiny compared to his brothers towering frame.

She wore a bright orange dress that appeared very appropriate on her, very unlike most of the other humans who had chosen more muted colors for their ensembles but tasteful just the sam. A white lilly flower was tucked into her thick black hair and she wore muted colored sandals that gave her at least two inches but she still was dwarfed by the demons above her.

It was odd to watch the stolid demon entertain such a cheerful looking little human woman.

His brother, while he did not hate them, saw the human race as nothing more than a bother; a nuisance. They were substantially weaker than him and in his mind that meant they were one-hundred percent disposable. Every single one of them. And yet the planet was crawling with them, much to his annoyance.

To see him seemingly content with a woman, a _human _no less, was downright creepy. Inuyasha entertained in the idea of going over and rapping on his brothers head, asking if anyone was home.

The music turned over to yet another slow song and Kikyo opened her mouth for the first time in over an hour to ask a catastrophic question: Would he like to dance?

"You know I don't, Kikyo," he replied, tone clipped and bored, clawed hand tapping the rim of his own wine glass to the beat of the music, internally wishing it were a beer bottle instead.

"Just this once. Please." A genuine smile danced on the corner of her lips and the half-demon was left with no more fight in him.

Inuyasha took a deep breath, held his lungs for a prolonged moment, then released the air with fairly audible _whoosh _and he stood up.

He gathered her hand in his much larger one, guiding her out onto the dance floor where he pressed his free hand onto the small dip of her back. She leant into him easily, placing her cheek against his chest, the other hand, not intertwined with his, wrapping around his neck, her fingers curling into the silver strands there.

He swayed the both of them, alternating the weight from one foot to the other—a gentle back, forth, back, forth motion. Kikyo let him guide her, allowing for her slender body to be rolled this way and that. The music seemed to sweep over them like a wave, and Inuyasha closed his eyes, allowing himself to enjoy the moment, something he rarely did if at all.

The peace was shattered cruelly, however, when the horrible stench of wolf and the delectable scent of lavender wafted to his nose.

Restraining a growl, he cracked open a golden eye and peered out at the now thriving dance floor which seemed to be alive with bodies pulsing all over the place. He spotted Kagome and Kouga twirling around together almost instantly.

Kouga swung the onyx-haired girl out and back towards himself obnoxiously, before dipping her easily like they'd done it a million times. She tipped her head back and laughed and Inuyasha wished very much that the speakers were turned down so his currently disabled ears could catch the sound.

Then Kagome decided to wrap both of her slender arms around the wolfs neck while his hands slid down her waist, settling on her hips.

Whatever possessive need Inuyasha felt for Kagome spiked angrily inside of him. His chest cramped with a feeling he'd never encountered before and spun both Kikyo and himself around, his back facing them, so he wouldn't have to look at them anymore.

He continued to dance with Kikyo, still blissfully unaware in the safety of his arms for another two songs. He found himself actually enjoying the music and, strangely enough, the dancing. He hadn't been able to run, jump or stretch his powerful muscles properly since the ship had cast off. Any kind of movement, even dancing, was welcomed with metaphorical open arms.

A new song melted into the last and suddenly a new scent came into the mix.

This smell was heavy and pungent, dark almost. The demanding smell singed Inuyasha's nostrils. When the overpowering fragrance intermingled with Kagome's, Inuyasha turned Kikyo and himself back around as discreetly as he could to investigate whatever the hell was going on.

The demon now holding Kagome in his arms was statuesque and his whole presence was commanding. Instantly, Inuyasha felt compelled to…_kneel_, of all things. His inner demon saw him as a rival Instinctively. And not just because he had Kagome so near to himself, but because his yōkai presence was so suffocating.

His human saw him as a threat. His demon saw him as a challenge.

It gave him no surprise when Kikyo suddenly raised her head from its place on his chest. "Whats wrong?"

"Nothin'." he replied brusquely.

"Oh? Is that so? Then why are you growling?"

His chest stopped making the rumbling noise instantly and he berated himself for not realizing he was doing it sooner. Kikyo followed his unwavering gaze toward Kagome and the mysterious demon who absolutely radiated malevolence, and gasped as if she were trapped in a room that was sucking out all of the oxygen.

"Woah," Inuyasha stumbled as Kikyo's legs seemed to give out from underneath her. Her knees buckled abruptly, her chest concaved into itself. Like a puppets strings being unexpectedly snapped. He supported her limp body from underneath her arms and hauled her up to his eye level.

"What is it? Whats the matter?"

She stood frozen, her whole face flushing with a type of haunting grief Inuyasha had never seen on her and didn't particularly care for. "I…I…I…" Her mouth flapped open and close like a fish fighting for water, eyes glassy and unseeing.

The notion of slapping her so she'd come to her senses flashed briefly in Inuyasha's mind. But he decided against it. No need in harming her when she seemed to be heading down the path of a mental breakdown. Instead he shook her, watching morbidly as her head lolled back and forth with the sharp movement.

"Hey. HEY!" He shouted, his tone on the verge of panic. "Cut it the fuck out, Kikyo. You're scarin' me."

Her brown eyes fluttered and she seemed to come back to herself. "I..I'm sorry. I think—" She swallowed hard, cutting herself off in the process.

When she spoke again a few moments later she spoke like a robot, all controlled words and monotone voiced. "I'm a bit tired. I think I should retire for the evening."

She regained her footing and took a deep breath before pushing away from him gently. Inuyasha let her, too stunned to do anything else but stare at her stupidly.

"Thank you for a pleasant evening, Inuyasha." She leaned her body forward, brushing a kiss on his cheek that left him unsettlingly sorrowful. "I had a wonderful time."

He watched her leave powerlessly, as though nothing had happened, noting how she left a wide berth between herself and the dance floor. She even held her chin with false dignity while she went.

_"What in the hell…?"_

He searched the room, his sharp eyes trying to pick out any abnormalities that would cause Kikyo to react in such a way. His attention kept falling back on the sight of Kagome and the new man defiantly.

His eyebrows knit the longer watched, the longer he stared. And soon enough it became clear.

Kagome looked a bit repulsed by the unnamed demon and she was standing as far away from the guy as possible, even as they danced. Where their middles should've have touched was a wide empty space as Kagome skirted mans eyes were fixated on her, his head bent towards her own in conversation as if he didn't notice her obvious revulsion. His eyes caught underneath an overhead light and they gleamed wickedly.

Inuyasha felt the flight instinct inside of him kick into gear, the urge to flee almost crippling. Never had he seen such _blood-red_ eyes, so red they were almost purple, so full of malice and venom. Even in the demon world having such color in the eyes was not a good sign.

The demons long fingers seemed to engulf Kagome's whole hand, though she looked like she was trying to wriggle her own fingers free of his grasp while still veering an air of aloofness. Inuyasha felt an unfounded sense of pride swell in his chest as he watched Kagome keep a cool air about her, though she kept an obvious distance, and smirked to himself. Yet the smirk came as quickly as it went.

And among all of the other things, there was her scent.

Kagome's natural smell, usually so carefree and light, had turned dense and rancid, like milk gone sour. It was a spicy scent that burned his nose like wildfire and caused his inner demon to rebel against the confines of his half-demon mentality, trying to gain control.

It was fear that he smelled. She was afraid.

As the comprehension donned on him, his legs were propelling him froward before any other conscious thought. If Kagome was scared of him and Kikyo was seemingly terrified of him that was plenty enough reason for Inuyasha to confront and beat the living hell out of the guy.

He shouldered through the mass of twirling, swaying bodies, adding another reason to his mental list of why he detested crowds. The moment he reached the center of the floor, the ominous man took a step back from Kagome before he could reach him however, slithering back into the thick crowd after offering what seemed like a few more light words and a smile, a smile that curled the corners of his lips unpleasantly.

Giving Kagome a swift once over to make sure she was alright, Inuyasha tried to watch where the nameless man had gone, even going so far as to stand on the balls of his feet to see over the thickness on the dance floor. Yet the demon couldn't be spotted. He wasn't even in the general dining area that was relatively clear of people.

It was as if he'd disappeared. As if he'd never truly been there in the first place.

Inuyasha started moving in the direction the man had gone to see if he could head the rouge demon off but stopped abruptly when something _crunched _and then _cracked _underfoot.

He glanced down confusedly, moving his shoe away to find what appeared to be a wooden doll of some sort. It was rounded out and smooth, the head just barely distinguishable from the body or arms. The craftsmanship of the trinket was mediocre, at best, but that didn't seem to be the point of the small object. There was something he was missing here—something teased him in the corner of his mind that he couldn't catch.

Something caught his sharp eye and Inuyasha reached down, cursing under his breath as he plucked a dark strand, almost invisible in the low light from around the doll where it had been meticulously wrapped. He raised it up to his eye level, mouth twisting into a sneer while he observed the tendril of dark hair in his grip.

Inuyasha didn't need to bother with wondering whom it belonged to.

* * *

She'd never needed a drink so badly in her entire life.

She twirled the delicate stem of the wine glass in-between her fingertips from where it rested on the tabletop, careful not to knock it into one of the elaborate flower centerpieces that bedecked each table, watching the liquid slosh around in the flute.

Naraku had sought her out again, had done everything but banish Kouga when he'd hesitated by her side on the dance floor, and had interrogated her with seemingly innocuous questions after she'd finally given into his 'offer.'

Kagome snorted to herself and took a long draught. "Offer" her butt. He'd practically demanded her to dance with him.

And when they'd finally found a good rhythm, he was relentless in his questioning. Asking things like where she'd grown up, what her school life had been like, if she had any family, etcetera. While all of them had been on the very innocent side, the way he'd asked them, leaning in as if every word she breathed was the answer to the meaning of life, was very unsettling.

The simple nearness of his presence made her cold. The memory of his haunting and deceptively beguiling eyes was burned into her memory.

A sharp laugh suddenly caught her attention and she turned toward the familiar sound. She found the slightly drunken giggling coming from Sango, who had sat herself on the surface of a cleared dinner table with her legs crossed, broadcasting the slit of her dress like a woman with no morals .

The man (whom Kagome assumed had been funny enough to make her best friend snort) leaned back in his chair, studying Sango's face like she were a goddess in human form. He was generically handsome, with brown hair and wise violet eyes. He seemed like the 'older brother' type of guy, constantly handing out advice but usually hopeless in his own endeavors. She had to admit that he did fill out his tuxedo rather nicely, though.

He inclined his head toward Sango, as she leaned towards him as well, Kagome observed the sight of three or so golden loops in one of his earlobes as they caught the light. Somehow they worked very well with his personality, charming in their simplicity.

Smirking as her friend continued to flirt with the guy, Kagome turned to look at the clusters of demons that stood on the side of the still thriving dance floor, most of them grown males, discussing things with one another. Hoity-toidy things if she took the time to imagine.

"Good evening, Mr. Money bags," she mocked, the lit of her tone airy and pretentious as she made up an overexagerated dialogue to the movement of their lips.

"And how are you this evening, Duchess Fancy-Pants? How's the castle? Doing well, I presume. I hear the weather in Venice is good this time of year. Shall we retreat there for our pre-pre-fall vacation and spend our time thinking about nothing but ourselves and how disgustingly wealthy we are?"

"I actually believe _he _is Mr. Money bags," A very deep, very amused voice chuckled right beside her ear. The upper half of her twisted to the side and she let out a quiet _'Eeep!' _when she caught sight of Inuyasha pulling up a seat and turning it around so he could plop down, pointing to a random older looking demoness. "And _her _name is Duchess Fancy-Pants."

Inuyasha angled the chair so he was facing towards her, allowing their knees to knock, and placed both arms on the back of the seat to brace all of his weight forward on his elbows, a heart stopping grin playing on his lips.

Kagome's face flamed in embarrassment and…some other feeling she couldn't quite place. "I…I'm sorry, I'm just….I—."

_"—Am a total idiot who's rambling to herself like some weirdo and…and…gods, you're gorgeous. Stop staring at me. Stop smirking at me. Stop it! My heart can't take it!"_

"You just were talking to yourself?" He ventured with a snort, reaching forward to pluck up a leftover bread roll from the table before mowing down on it. "No big deal," he muttered around his mouthful. "I do it too. Apparently you're not supposed to, though. I hear that people might think you're crazy."

Swallowing down the lump of embarrassment still in her throat, she shook her head and tsked her tongue. "In this day in age? Really. You'd think that people would be able to talk to themselves without being judged."

"Tell me about it," he drawled, his eyes glinting with humor in a way that made Kagome gulp.

"So, um," she cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortably on the chair. "What are you doing here?"

He took another bite, filling his cheeks. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you sitting here, talking….with…me," she finished lamely, lowering her eyes quickly before he looked at her. Jeez, he must think her so spastic for how she was acting. Couldn't she just play it cool and act natural?

He blinked at her for a few seconds and Kagome wondered if she'd just made a terrible blunder and said something wrong. She wanted to bang her head on the table. But then he seemed to relax a bit, leaning forward until their knees knocked yet again.

"We're friends, right? And friend's sit with each-other so they don't start talking to themselves." The first part of what he'd said had been serious, dead serious, but the last part he had chuckled out.

"Friends?" She squeaked like a mouse being stepped on. So much for playing it cool. "We're friends?"

He grinned and Kagome stared as his nose tweaked with the action. "Yeah, 'course we are. Why wouldn't we be?"

"I um…I don't know." She scratched at her head and then found herself smiling to herself. Yes. She liked the idea of being his friend very much.

"Okay then," she reiterated shyly. "We're friends."

"Great. Now that all _that_ is settled," he stood suddenly, brushing off a few spilled bread crumbs from his pristine white dress shirt. He had taken off his suit jacket now and was carrying it around with him, allowing Kagome to ogle the muscles of his body roll from underneath his shirt. "You wanna get some fresh air?"

She raised a brow. "Uh, _Inuyasha_, if you haven't noticed we are on a ship." He didn't budge, just blinked. She tired again. "In the middle of the ocean."

"Yes _Kagome,_" he mimicked, "I realize that, thank you. But it's kinda getting hot in here and I need some air. I was just wonderin' if you wanted to join me."

He offered his hand and Kagome got a close up look of his claws. Though she was not afraid. She was…curious if anything, and very, _very _eager to accept his offer. Inuyasha's smirk widened a fraction as if he sensed that eagerness and her heart flip-flopped. Yes, Inuyasha was right. It _was _getting rather hot.

She slipped her noticeably smaller palm into his own, shivering as a shock of electricity wriggled up and down her spine at the contact of their skin, ending pleasantly in her toes. His grip was soft and warm, his hand rough and somehow gentle. It amazed Kagome that so many differences in one lone person could be so comforting.

Only in the very back of her mind did she wonder where Kikyo was, she had seen the soft toned model earlier with the man in front of her but she had disappeared a few dances in mysteriously. Kagome recognized it probably wasn't a wise idea to be going galavanting around with someone else's date for the evening. But the other part, the other part strongly influenced by sappy romantic movies and terribly wonderful fantasies she'd had since she was a child, told her she didn't particularly care. The way she saw it was if Inuyasha was asking her to come with that was all that mattered.

Unknowing to her thoughts, Inuyasha took her arm when she needed a tiny bit of help stabilizing herself in her high heels. She was very unused to wearing such footwear and was still a bit clumsy at it. Inuyasha steadied her before she could stumble too ungraciously, placing one hand just on the crest of her hip while the other remained wrapped around her hand.

He lowered his head, looking directly into her eyes. "You good?"

She felt her cheeks warming again at the close proximity of their faces. Their noses almost brushed. Kagome lowered her head before he could see the red claiming the bridge of her nose and face. "Yes. I-I'm fine."

There came a sharp whistle and the sound of two sets of hands clapping over the constant hum of the music and both Kagome and Inuyasha's head shot up. Sango and Mrioku watched them with wide and knowing smirks on each of their faces and when Kagome lowered her head in embarrassment once more Miroku let out another saucy whistle.

"C'mon," Inuyasha chucked lightly to cover his embarrassment. Kagome kept her head lowered, missing the glare he tossed at Miroku. The other man simply grinned suggestively from across the room.

"Well," Kagome took a breath and held it as he ushered her into the hall. The comparable quietness to the constant music, laughter and discussions of the ballroom was almost deafening. "That was interesting."

Inuyasha felt his mouth upturn with a smirk. "Thats just Miroku. You can ignore him. Actually," he amended, "I'd prefer it if you _did_ avoid him."

Kagome looked over and up at him. Even with two inch heels on her forehead was only level with his chin. "Why's that?"

Inuyasha shook his head and began walking down the practically deserted ship, Kagome following almost obediently. Everyone seemed to either be out at dinner, at the gala, or enjoying themselves in their cabins after another long day outside.

"He's just very…" His eyes flew to the ceiling as he searched for the right word. "_Handsy." _

_"Thats the understatement of the year," _his mind supplied and he chuckled, turning the sound into cough hidden in his fit.

"Really?" Kagome matched his stride as they continued strolling easily, in no hurry to arrive anywhere, just sort of drifting along. "Is he a bad guy? With women, I mean."

He snorted and ran a clawed hand through his hair, mindful to not nick his claws on his still pinned ears accidentally. "Nah. Miroku'd never hurt a woman intentionally. He just doesn't know how to keep his hands to himself. Or When to shut up for that matter. "

Kagome's chest expanded with relief. "Thats good. He was talking to my best friend Sango in there. I can tell she likes him and I don't want her getting hurt."

He glanced at her as they sidestepped a group of people headed the opposite direction. "Yea, I have a feeling she'll be just fine. I saw her handling herself earlier tonight. Quite the aim she has, huh?"

Kagome laughed lightly while she imagined Sango 'handling' herself, for she knew what that meant all to well, and Inuyasha was drawn to it, momentarily forgetting everything and anything else except for that pure sound. "She sure does."

They continued this mindless chatter until they reached a staircase partially hidden at the back of the ship. Inuyasha offered her assistance so she wouldn't trip over her gown or shoes, and when she complied and took his hand, Inuyasha bit down on his tongue to keep from opening his moth and saying something idiotic about her smooth skin, or how her scent was hypnotic, or how too damn beautiful she was for her own good.

"So you know Mrioku pretty well?" She asked, startling him from his thoughts, fiddling her mothers borrowed necklace around her throat once they reached the top step.

The room Inuyasha had led them to was built as a breakfast bar and was only open during the day. All the lights and appliances were shut off, leaving the job of illuminating the space up to bright moonbeams that cascaded through large windows. He paced them closer to the windows, growing thoughtful, eyes gazing outside at the darkness.

"Yeah. I guess you could call him my best friend." He began chewing on his lower lip with one of his fangs thoughtfully. "He's my only friend, actually."

Kagome shook her head slowly and tried to catch his eye. "I don't believe that. A funny, good-looking guy like you? I bet you have tons of friends off this ship just waiting for you to get back home."

His head turned to her slowly, painfully slowly, eyes sluggishly moving up toward her face. "You think I'm good-looking?"

Kaogme gulped and floundered, flailing her hands around in wide nonsensical gestures. Had she really said that out loud? "What I meant was…I mean no. I mean yes! But…I couldn't—"

"Okay, okay," Inuyasha chuckled, grasping her hand again so she'd stop flapping them about so wildly. "I get it. Don't hurt yourself."

Inuyasha paused and she paused with him, taking the time to gaze freely at one another, the moonlight the only light on their faces. Slowly, Inuyasha raised their intertwined hands to gaze at the vast contrast, his tanned, clawed hand covering each of her delicate pale fingers, palms flat against each other.

Her eyes flickered upwards, mouth falling open a touch at the sight presented of him, hair and face bathed in the glow of the moon. Each moonbeam immersed every silvery strand on his head in a pearlescent glow until _he _seemed to radiate all by himself in the stark contrast of darkness behind him. And his eyes…she wet her parched lips at the vision his amber eyes made. She was sure he could read her every thought, know her every hope and dream just by gazing at her with those eyes alone.

Inuyasha watched with intense curiosity as her small pink tongue darted out to wet her lip before she nibbled on it. Oh how he wanted to be the one nibbling on it instead. And how badly he wanted to kiss her, to see what she tasted like and savor her. It was almost unbearable, being so close to her and not spending all of his time pressing his lips to hers.

He thought about it, just for a split second what it would be like. How he would hold her, how he would meld her smaller body to his own and kiss her, kiss her like they both wanted to do. What a strange feeling it was, to want to kiss a person her barely knew, but wanted all the same. What a strange, and truthfully dangerous thought that was, given their situation.

As he leisurely mapped out all the wonderful scenarios of kissing her, a face popped into his mind and caused all his fantasies to come crashing to an abrupt halt; _Kikyo_. Just what would she think about all of this? What would she think of him if she found out he was thinking this way?

What did that say about him?

Inuyasha cleared his suddenly parched throat roughly and dropped her hand like she'd singed his flesh. He turned from her. "Lets get going."

Kagome faltered for a moment at the palpable change in him, wondering if it had been a bad idea going along when he'd asked. Then, thinking better of herself and of him, nodded slowly and moved ahead, biting her lip so hard it broke the skin. "Right."

Inuyasha stepped towards a set of double doors that lead out to a small deck on the stern of the ship and opened one, waiting patiently as Kagome stepped outside before allowing the door to shut, but not lock, after them.

The deck was oval shape, melding to the side of the sleek ship, and allowed for a marvelous view. Splayed out before them the ocean was placidly gentle and there was a large swell left in their wake by the propellers of the ship. A wide trail of upturned sea churned after them.

The night sky exploded in front of the pair, completely cloudless and, because they were so far out from and city or town, brimming with stars that shimmered and blinked. And, proudest of all, the moon gleamed brilliantly in the darkness surrounding her. The white orb lit up the whole sky, casting shadows on anything that wasn't directly underneath its blinding radiance.

"Beautiful," Kagome breathed at the sight of it all, her previous insecurities about Inuyasha vanishing as quickly ask they'd come. She measured up to the railing and leaned over the very top, peering down at the churning saltwater below.

Inuyasha watched her turn her face up the sky, close her eyes and and take a deep breath. The moon made her pale skin shimmer.

"Yes. Beautiful." He softly agreed, though he definitely wasn't speaking about the scenery. Did she know how gorgeous she was, he wondered. Did she know, perhaps, and was she merely humble about it? Or was she truly so oblivious to her own appeal?

"So," Kagome turned to him, resting one hip against the rail suddenly despite the earlier awkwardness between them, smirking cheekily over one shoulder. "You come here often?"

He laughed—outright laughed at her brazen and abrupt deadpanned joke—and Kagome stared simply dumbstruck while his head tilted back, eyes closed and a beaming smile that should've rightfully split his cheeks on his face. He was truly something else.

"Sorry," smiled Kagome lightly when he glanced back at her, a stray chuckle still escaping him now and again. "I tend to get a bit corny when I'm nervous, or in situations I can't help. Truthfully, I'm not very good at this."

"What? Talking?" Inuyasha groused, ambling his way over beside her and resting both forearms on the smooth railing.

"_No, _not talking. I mean _this," _She gestured to her formfitting dress with a wave of he hand before tweaking the edge of his tux. "I'm not good at this dinner gala, elegant evening stuff."

He sighed, chuckling sardonically at the two of them and shifted his weight until the edge of his arm brushed against hers. "We're to peas in pod then. I'm not good at this stuff either."

Inuyasha didn't know why he was telling her this. I wasn't his policy to divulge his personal thoughts with anyone, really, except for Miroku occasionally when he felt especially talkative which was a rare thing in and of itself. But talking to Kagome felt natural. Easy. The words slipped right out of his mouth before he truly thought them over.

Kagome didn't even try and hide the scoff that left her lips at what he'd said. "I doubt that."

Inuyasha glanced down at her with slight offense marring his features. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means…well just look at you!" She indicated her head in his direction. "You're probably used to dinner galas and parties and polo matches, vacations on yachts—"

"Don't forget the private jets," he interjected with a smirk in his eye, though secretly taking everything she said to heart.

The corners of her mouth curled with a smile. "Yes. That too." Then she sighed, "But you understand my point, don't you?"

He didn't really, but she continued before he could point that out.

"My family we…" she swallowed deeply, not understanding why it was exactly she was practically pouring out her soul, knowing that it was ridiculous to babble at him like she was. Her hands twisted and untwisted uncertainly from their place hanging over the rail.

"We're not like you—_I'm _not like you." She managed, turning to him with a gravitating gaze. "We won our tickets for this trip, my family. We're not well off enough to pay for this kind of thing and we definitely aren't rich.

"My gramps owns a shrine thats been in out family for generations. We help out around the place now, but once he's unable to take care of it anymore my mother will inherit the house and shrine deed. And then after her comes me, and some day I'll inherit it as well. I'm going to school at the moment tough I'm not sure what I want to do with my life, and when I'm not at the shrine I'm an assistant teacher at my collage. Which basically means I'm a glorified tutor."

Kagome turned to him suddenly and looked deeply into his amber eyes that were shrouded by darkness and glowing back at her. "And I thought people wouldn't notice. Thought that maybe if I'd tried to blend in here no one would see me any differently but," she frowned, lowering her head shamefully, "they did. They noticed it. I saw the way they looked at me."

"Who?" Inuyasha found himself asking. The thought that anyone looked at Kagome with anything but admiration and adoration—it didn't sit well with him.

She sniffed, eyes watery but not tearful. "Some of the guests at the party tonight. Mostly the demons but a good amount of humans, too. They looked at me as though I were nothing but a nuisance."

Her head snapped up toward the sound of barking laughter at, what she presumably thought was, her. It was a bitter raspy noise that grated in the back of Inuyasha's throat and sounded anything but happy. Cynical? Yes. Oddly vindictive? Absolutely. But full of happiness or mirth? Definitely not.

Kagome scowled. "Whats so funny?"

Inuyasha heard the disgruntled tone in her voice, knew she was angry, either with him directly or simply just the situation, but couldn't find himself to stop snorting with contempt.

"Don't take it personally, Kagome," he responded. "They're not stickin' their noses up at you—it's the_ world_ the think they're superior to, and anything and everything thats even the slightest bit different to them is looked down on. Mocked even. It's cruel, it's ludicrous and damn unbelievable but its true.

"It ain't you," he grunted with a slight huff, his voice lacking some of it's earlier harshness, eyes fixed firmly on the sea displayed in-front of them. "It's them. They're the ones that don't understand."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience," Kagome said, some of her earlier ire pushed back by gentle curiosity.

Inuyasha snorted, shaking his head sadly. "Yeah. Something like that."

Kagome regarded the man—demon—in front of her for a ghost of a second. Her thoughts trailed off as the quaint deck was flooded with gentle moonlight as the ship they were being carried on turned, just a fraction a direction if anything, allowing the moon to catch everything in a brilliant glow. With his weight pressed against the rail, Inuyasha's hair billowed behind him like a silver layer of film highlighted gorgeously in the luminescent lighting. Kagome froze as her eyes were drown to his shadowed figure in full view. He lowered his head, staring down at the waters below before his eyes, weather consciously or not, slid over to look back at her. They narrowed a fraction of a second later, as if his mind couldn't properly place her.

Behind the clear curiosity in those gilded irises was another emotion that fought Kagome by surprise, entirely different yet curious just the same—sorrow, maybe. Some kind of sadness that caused Kagome her own grief.

He was hurting secretly, she realized.

"You, uh," Kagome coughed and then offered a wan smile and took a dainty step forward. "I'm assuming you didn't simply invite me out here to chat about our deep dark secrets. And I _know _you didn't intend for me to start blathering on about my sad little life as a shrine maiden."

He rolled his eyes but smirked to himself and stood a bit straighter.

"So," she asked wonderingly, brushing back a strand of black hair that had escaped her up-do and raked it behind her ear. "What is it you needed from me?"

"Feh. What made you think I wanted you out here so I could ask you anything? Pretty quick to jump to conclusions don't you, woman?"

"I'm not jumping to anything" retuned Kagome with a smug smirk. "I could just tell."

Inuyasha refrained from flushing embarrassedly or scoffing at her confidence. Had he been _that _transparent? "Well….there _is _one thing I've been wonderin' about." he hedged.

"I knew it."

"There was a man you were dancing with earlier tonight—do you know his name?"

Kagome's brows knit thoughtfully, wondering at the direction this turnabout question was leading them. "Kouga you mean?"

The frown that seemed to be permanently etched into his features returned and scattered his prior gentle expression, hands squeezing around the railing as one would wrap their hands around a neck that was to be strangled. "No. Not that flea bitten—…I mean, no. Not him."

"Then who?" Kagome sucked her bottom lip into her mouth pensively, rewinding the course of her evening mentally before it came to a screeching halt on the only other person she could think of. "You don't mean Naraku, do you?"

_"Naraku," _Inuyasha echoed mentally, fitting his face with the name. _"That must be who has Kikyo so on edge." _

"Do you know this Naraku person personally?" he asked. "His past, maybe?"

Kagome slowly shook her head, the dangling earrings in her ears swinging from side to side. "No. I only met him just this evening. He…."she trailed, troubled suddenly over the mental road block she'd reached in her thought process.

"What is it?" prodded Inuyasha, sounding nearly fervent.

She met his eyes sluggishly, weary and cautious of the news she was about to confide in him. "He mistook me for Kikyo," she admitted softly with truth. "Thats how we met."

Inuyasha shoved back from the rail with a hiss, running a hand through his hair as he stomped toward the glass doors, his suspicions confirmed. Naraku and Kikyo knew one another somehow, someway. And Kikyo hadn't told him.

"Dammit." He snarled, he paced further, feeling the all too familiar fire of his demon boiling hotly in his veins viciously.

Kikyo had lied to him. Well, perhaps she hadn't lied exactly and entirely, but she certainly hadn't told the truth.

Here he was, _embarrassed _over the fact that he was out here with a woman who was definitely not Kikyo and she was, what? Keeping secrets?

Wasn't that what people in relationships were supposed to do, he wondered while he strode back and forth. Tell the truth until nothing else remind between? No barriers, no walls? She had kept this from him, and now that Naraku was here she was forced to confront the issue. And what did she do? Run, not toward Inuyasha for comfort, but away.

She had left him. Out of all the hurtful things she'd done…that stung the most.

Who was he, his mind wondered angrily, heart pumping at an increasingly alarming rate until he was afraid the pressure and anger building would ultimately crush his ribcage. Who was this man? What was their shared past? And the question pressing itself to the forefront among the chaotic cluster of the others: what did he want now?

A small, gentle hand rested on the curve of his upper arm, slender fingers wrapping over the curve of his shirt and he found his body jerking to a reflexive still, the fire raging inside of him cooling notch by wrathful notch. He allowed himself to be stopped but he didn't look at her. Didn't do anything expect stand stock still, staring unblinkingly at the ships wall in front of him with hard golden eyes. Too many thoughts buzzed inside of his head, all going unanswered.

"Inuyasha," her soft voice whispered tenderly, as if merely a wisp of a billowing wind. The ears on his head perked defiantly against the clips to seek out her voice better. "Inuyasha it's okay."

Was it? he wondered with a deep sigh that made him truly realize how tired, _exhausted _he was. Would it truly ever be just _okay_?

He turned to her, looking at her slowly with a vaguely ashamed expression on his honest face when he felt the crimson of his eyes recede along with the violet marking of his cheeks, chest rising with harsh breaths as his blood pressure fell. He had really worked himself up.

Kagome searched his face silently, wonderingly, before saying,"It's okay. I know you must be confused right now and hurt, but working yourself up isn't going to help anything. I'm not sure why you're as angry as you are but the only thing my mind came up with is that you think Naraku and Kikyo must've….dated before? And perhaps she didn't tell you? Or maybe she did but not in great detail and now your worried she's keeping things from you?"

He swallowed, kicking himself inwardly. He really _was _transparent. _"Damn." _

Knowingly she sighed at his expression. He looked like a dog that had been kicked.

"It'll all be aright. It may not seem like it now, I know. But," she smiled softly, head tilting to the side to look at him more directly. "Everything will. It always gets better. And who knows?" She inquired rhetorically with a tone that was ultimately uplifting. "Maybe when she's ready, Kikyo will tell you whats on her mind. You just have to let her."

_"Kagome," _he thought with the mental equivalent of a deep breath. _"If only you knew. If only you understood. You probably wouldn't even want anything to _do _with me if you knew everything—wouldn't want to know me anymore. You'd be too disgusted."_

His eyes sought out her own and found them less than a foot away. Startled, the girl jumped back when she realized how close she was, that her hand was still resting on his bicep, that she had inter to get closer. Much closer.

"I'm sorry," she waved her hands around hastily. "I didn't mean to. I mean I did _mean _to." Her eyes widened. "Help you! I meant to help you! That is to say I merely wanted to make you feel better seeing as how Kikyo might be lying to you." If at all possible, her eyes widened again, white all the way round. "I don't mean she was lying exactly, but isn't that what you were thinking? That she was?"

She cleared her throat and looked at the deck. "I mean I don't want to say how you were thinking—I don't want throw that out there. I do think it's interesting she wouldn't tell you though," she laughed nervously, tapping the pads of her pointer fingers together in front of her face.

"But maybe she had a good reason to keep a secret from a man like you." Her face turned bright, practically firetruck red in the glowing moonlight as her words registered in her head. "I'll stop talking now," she whispered as her huge eyes moved from looking at her hands to staring down at her face in embarrassment.

Inuyasha felt his heart warm inside his ribcage, the fear that had plagued him about Kikyo leaving, ebbing away like the unwanted swell in the tide. Kagome started when she heard Inuyasha chuckle and she glanced up shyly, face still ablaze, and saw him standing casually, a boyish smirk on his face, his posture relaxed.

"Do you want to meet me tomorrow?" He asked her out of the blue, surprising them both. The words had merely waltzed right off of his tongue and he realized (a tad too late) that he had been intending to ask her that the whole night.

She blinked her impossibly large eyes at him. "What?"

He shrugged and stuffed both hands into his pockets so he'd have something to do with them and fought to maintain his stare on her. "It's a simple question: yes you _do _want to meet me tomorrow, or you don't."

Kagome's mouth flapped. "But…but—"

"Yes I know you do have a tough time at talking to others and we'll work on that issue, but try to keep up." He shook his head at her as though she were a hopeless case. Her mind finally decided to catch up and she matched his earlier smirk.

"Yes."

Inuyash cupped a hand to his ear—or where his _human _ear should've been. "I'm sorry? What did you say?"

Kagome stamped her little feet. "Oh, I know you heard me."

"One more time. I'm sorry I didn't catch it."

"I said yes."

"What?"

"I said yes," she laughed and he chuckled.

"Once more, just so I'm sure."

Kagome flung her arms out wide, laughing freely for the first time in what felt like forever. "I said I'll meet you tomorrow. I said yes!"

Inuyasha placed a mock frown on his face and crossed his arms. He shook his head, _tsking_ his tongue. "Alright, alright. We'll meet tomorrow. You don't have to get so railed up, woman."

That night seemed endless. They laughed mindlessly, joked and teased mindlessly, completely enthralled and charmed with one another and the idea that maybe, just maybe, things would start to change for the better. That maybe, _"please let it be maybe," _Kagome thought, that they would perhaps change each other and everything around them.

When the night finally came to a close and the sun rose up from the deep blue, touching the surface of the water, hissing and boiling—the sky turning pink and blue and purple—the pair retreated for the 'evening.'

Like a true gentleman Inuyasha returned Kagome to her room._"Didn't want you to get lost or fall down a flight of stairs,"_ He'd told her as his excuse with a gruff snort to cover up a blush that stained his cheeks. "_Kami only knows how much trouble a klutz like you can get into wearing shoes like those."_

And then he'd said good-night and she'd told him good-morning and then they'd parted, Inuyasha drifting down the hall toward his own room, snapping his fingers subconsciously and whistling while Kagome undid her hair, humming a nameless tune quietly so she wouldn't disturb the occupants of the room who were fast asleep around her.

And then they fell asleep, just like that—Inuyasha as soon as his head hit the pillow and Kagome as soon as she wrapped up the blankets tightly underneath her chin. Falling into a serene black abyss with no worry of what the day would bring. The sun was already shining and with it, bringing the promise of a life changing day.

They both fell asleep with peaceful expressions on their faces.

* * *

_—A few hours prior—_

Kikyo ran.

She didn't look back, just kept hustling on toward her room, rounding the corners of the ship as quickly as her legs and shoes would allow. Her breath was ragged and terribly weak—it felt like someone had reached out and punched her until her chest started to collapse. The world spun, the room distorted itself and her stomach threatened to turn inside out.

She practically swung around another corner, dashing. Her heels _clacked_ and _clicked _quickly against the polished flooring. She pulled hair pins from her hair until every strand tumbled heavily down her back and weighed down her pale neck. She didn't even hold onto them. Just dropped them dazedly onto the soft carpeted floor while she moved—leaving a curious trail after her.

She reached the elevator, rapidly brushing her way inside while her dress cascaded like a bloody trail behind her, fingering the floor her room was on with haste.

He was here. She couldn't believe it. Didn't _want _to believe it but it was true. Somehow Onigumo had beaten all odds and survived, had lived long enough to escape the prison she'd worked and fought so hard to encase him in, in what she'd hoped and prayed for, was forever.

And now he was back to haunt her. And probably kill her when that game became to dreary.

The very thought made the walls around her shrink. Once a seemingly large and ornate lift, the elevator suddenly felt cramped and caging. The walls moved in, suffocating her. She fought for air, her lungs expanded and searched for the thing they craved most. She pressed the naked skin of her back into the wall, a shrill whimper escaping, sweat making her brow glisten.

It was a torturous ride, one that felt like an eternity passing by, and when the floor was reached and the two golden doors that were seemingly creeping closer swept open with a contradicting chirpy _ding!_ she very nearly flung herself out into the brightly lit hall.

She stumbled over the hem of her skirts and her shoes, colliding into the opposite wall with a very unladylike grunt. She rebounded away quickly with a swift push. She couldn't stay in one place too long. It wasn't safe out in the defenseless open. _  
_

She kept on, moving around a few more corners and colliding into a maid who was pushing a cleaning cart, knocking a few of the contents onto the floor—she nearly tripped over rouge toilet paper rolls—and kept moving with an "I'm sorry!" flung over her shoulder at the cleaning woman who merely stood rooted in her spot, confused.

She reached her hallway and the sight made her think of the home stretch and she let out a deep puff of breath and took out her card key. She'd staggered to a stop in front of her suite door and was just about to swipe the card through the key-reader when a low, malicious and malevolent chuckle from down the hallway rolled into her ears like a phantom of her forgotten past. Scarier still the sound was originating from the way she'd come.

The once powerful miko turned to a stone statue, heart _th-thumping _to a stop that was deafening. The key slipped through fingers gone numb and dropped to the floor and her brown eyes stayed paralyzed on the wooden door of her room.

Another wave of chuckles came crashing over her like a tidal wave and her eyes closed. She swallowed, deeply afraid to do little more.

"What?" The voice asked rhetorically, smirk evident in the corrupt timbre. "Too stunned are you that you aren't even going to say hello to a former acquaintance? You know, I daresay I am hurt." He clucked his tongue. "Hurt, truly," he paused, pulling out the last word for dramatic effect. "Kikyo."

A wrathful shiver raced up her spine as if the grim reaper had ran its finger over its length, her name coming from his lips like rape, and her fingers tingled, itched with pent up miko energy that hadn't been used properly in far to long to obliterate him. But she knew she wouldn't. Knew she _couldn't. _ She knew it wouldn't be enough. She wasn't strong enough to take him out.

As far as she knew, nothing was.

"Onigumo," she spat, the old but still familiar name sliding with surprising ease from her mouth. Her hands curled into tight fists. "What could you possibly be doing here? How-how did you—?"

"Escape from the godforsaken island on which you _imprisoned _me?" Kikyo flinched on the word, though true, and stared down at the floor with unseeing eyes. He chuckled again. It was obvious he enjoyed the taste and scent of her terror, much like one would enjoy and succulent meal. "Now why would I indulge my life secrets with you, _darling_? Where would be the fun in that?"

Kikyo spun around, dark eyes blazing, dress whirling, hands clenched. "Don't you ever call me that! Never again!"

The hall was clear before her, eerily still and for a moment Kikyo wondered if she was going insane. Had she simply imagined him there? She shivered agin, goosebumps welting on her skin and she knew—no, she wasn't going insane. He was there. She felt his attention, his eyes on her.

And then, out from the shadows created by design of the hall a lone figure, seemingly a shadow merely slithering free from the other shadows, stepped into the light, pallid and gaunt compared to the black suit draped tastefully across his body. Ebony locks swept out behind him, the demons lips curved into a cruel smirk, red eyes trained unflinchingly on her own.

There it was. It was true. He was truly here, in front of her.

"Strike a nerve did I? Pity. A true shame. You used to love that little pet name. Used to crave for me to say it," he grinned while she squirmed with obvious discomfort.

"Kikyo," his voice rumbled, her name a sickening caress. "How very long its been since we last laid eyes on each-other. But you knew that already, didn't you?" Kikyo stood her ground, though knew exactly what he was referring to. "I assume I'm correct in guessing that its been so long, in fact, that you probably assumed we'd never meet again." He didn't wait for her reply. "Indeed, I too had certain doubts about our impending gathering.

"However, I planned on it. I waited on it. I prepared for it. And now here we are." he spread his arms in a wide gesture, inclining his head towards her. "Though we're vastly different from our previous encounter."

The implied statement in his word were not lost on the former Miko. Yes. Things were much, much different now.

She inhaled deeply through her nose and narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Here we are." Her eye actually spasmed. "Now, why. Are. You. Here?" She asked, stressing every last syllable. "I ask again because it seems like you didn't hear me the first time."

He grinned. "Still not beating around the bush I see." He took a step forward. She took one back. "Though I must admit I have missed these little dances of ours."

"I know," her lip turned down with a snarl. "You always did like them."

"You've gotten better at it."

"So have you," she bit out between her flawless teeth begrudgingly.

"Naturally," he chuckled with a sweep of his hands.

Then suddenly his expression darkened, the air around him crackled and snapped with electricity stretched thickly and somehow thin all at once, like a wire. Kikyo whimpered as the full force of his power came crushing down onto her weakened miko senses. It was too much, she thought, her body sagging against the wall behind her. The power he once had—it was nothing compared to this. This was heavier, denser and more potent. Minimally, she wondered why no one hadn't noticed this aura yet. Why anyone hadn't come running the second it had been released.

Kikyo choked on her breath as a wind came from out of nowhere, whipping around the pair. The vapor of the wind bled purple, swirling around the two of them like a twisted, sick sort of bond. Narkau's hair billowed behind him like the feathers of ravens wings, oddly beautiful in the dark moment, his mouth already in a pleased grin turned to a wicked smile. Tears leaked from Kikyo's eyes, not from sadness, but from the ghastly air around her. They raced down her cheeks and dribbled off her trembling chin.

_"This," _her mind thought, though her body was rendered useless. _"This is death." _

Just when she thought she could stand no more, her legs giving and her mind starting to shut down, he was in front of her, moving so quick he was nothing but a black blur. His hand shot out and grasped her by the neck and hauled her back up to her normal height and held her there. Her legs dangled.

Face blank with no real emotion, Onigumo began to squeeze those fingers around her pale skin, skin that he hadn't felt in years and was oddly aware of that fact. He squeezed, not so much so that the woman would lose consciousness but enough that her heart sped up with the instinctual thought of death, blood pumping frantically as her brain lost oxygen bit by bit. He leaned in close.

"Listen closely, because I will say this all but once," he growled, all amusement gone. His eyes were dead but they still held the power to stab into her soul. "I am _far _stronger than I once was. You may try to defeat me," he had the gall to snicker at the idea, "if you wish. Though I would strongly advise against it. You're _feelings," _he spat the word as though it left a bad taste in his mouth, "that you once held for me will no longer render me useless. Never again shall I fall to the likes of you." He shook her for good measure and her hands came up to claw at his hands. "_Never_."

"You…still haven't…answered me, Onigumo," she rasped out, hands still scratching at his much larger palm and fingers.

He sniggered darkly at her weak attempt (finding it oddly amusing she hadn't even _tried _or _fought _to use her dormant miko powers to at least put up a purification barrier to thwart him off), the sound so ominous Kikyo was afraid she would finally succumb to the darkness right then and there.

"All in due time, darling. In due time." It wasn't an offer. It was the threat hidden in a daunting promise. "Moreover, my name isn't Onigumo anymore. That ill-bred fool died long ago," He stated blankly, as though they were discussing the state of the weather. "You may call me Naraku from now on."

She met his stare defiantly, trying to push her way free but he merely pressed his free hand to the wall above her head and crossed his legs at the ankles to anchor his weight; an all too familiar position for the both of them.

"It's doesn't matter how many masks you cower behind _Onigumo," _Kikyo declared with a strong tone through the tight pinch of his fingers. "You will always be the same despicable, conniving, evil monster you are now, as you will always be. Come to grips with your fate, face the ghouls from your past head-on. Running from them will only give them meaning to chase you. And you cannot run forever."

He frowned, obviously displeased with her choice in words and clenched a bit tighter around her windpipe, watching with uncanny satisfaction when she made a gurgling noise in the back of her mouth while her eyes rolled.

"And," he spoke as if she hadn't stopped his tirade. He leaned close to her neck and she turned her head, but he merely pressed his lips against the outer shell of her ear. "I wouldn't go running off to tell that brash little Inuyasha of yours of our meeting."

He chuckled in sheer glee at the thought, running his nose against her hair, her neck, breathing in _her,_ nuzzling the space of skin underneath her ear in a seemingly sweet gesture—yet they both knew better. Much better.

"We wouldn't want him blindingly butting into situations he clearly knows nothing about and doesn't belong in, Hmm?"

She wet her lips and squeezed her eyes shut and he merely smirked at the sight of her grappling underneath his dominating hold. The very many demons writhing and squirming within him like worms found the sight delicious, if not alluring.

"Otherwise," he whispered sensually and her stomach rolled. She was going to be sick. "That may be the very last thing he ever does."

There came a silence and his words hung up in an air already clustered with ominous electricity before descending around Kikyo like the veil of a funeral shroud, like snow falling from the heavens to the earthly plane of existence.

There was no sound. She wasn't even sure if she was breathing.

The hall was quiet.

The ship was quiet.

Everything was eerily still, like the calm after a tornado hits and blasts someone's world apart.

She stood there—for how long she wasn't sure but did know it felt like forever until her legs finally gave out mercifully without a hand hoisting her up by her jugular, and she slid to the floor, allowing her bodyweight to rest fully against the door of her suite. She kept her eyes closed, kept her mind blank, kept herself as deadly silent and still as he'd left her.

She didn't open her eyes. Didn't want to. Didn't _need _to.

She didn't need to open her eyes to know that he'd be gone. The bone-chill in the air left in his wake was proof enough.

* * *

**A/N: **

_**And there you have it. **_

_** I am sooooooo happy I am FINALLY done with these two annoyingly awful, wonderful and long chapters. I hope you enjoyed the double update as an apology for being so late with them. **_

_**I will be updating as soon as I can—I'm sorry I don't have a specific time—but I will hurry to get the next chapter done, especially since the next chapter is my favorite one so far.**_

_**I also wanted to ask if you guys are keeping up with my story so far. I feel like my writing style is, at times, choppy and hard to follow. I hope this isn't the case but thats just how I feel.**_

_***Fun-Fact Of The Week Or Something***_

_**The very last line of this chapter was one of the very first things I wrote when planning this story. **_

_***End of Fun Fact Of The Week Or Something***_

_**Tell me how you feel. Didja like it? Right a review and let me know! **_

_**For now, I'm going to go take a nap. Stay beautiful! **_

_**-B-mo**_


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